


What We Are

by Sams_Princess, Steelcode



Category: Supernatural, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Animal Play Puppy Dean Winchester, Animal Play Puppy Sam Winchester, Animal Traits, Castration, Collars, Gen, Kidnapping, Master/Pet, NO rape, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Non-Sexual, Older Sam Winchester, Puppies, Puppy Dean, Puppy Jensen, Puppy Play, Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester are not brothers, leash, non-con, vet visits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-05-05 23:10:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sams_Princess/pseuds/Sams_Princess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steelcode/pseuds/Steelcode
Summary: A shadow fell over his crate. Jensen cowered back when hands fumbled to open it and reached inside.The guy was tall, and Jensen didn’t like it. He didn’t get a good look at him before something was slipped over his eyes. He bucked slightly, turning his head to try and dislodge it.“New-born pups can’t see, or hear,” The deep voice spoke quietly to him. And then hands travelled down to his ears and pressed something inside each one. And Jensen realised, in panic, that he couldn’t hear a damn thing.-X-Castiel and Gabriel are looking for a puppy. But not just any puppy. A human one. And Jensen fits the bill.





	1. The Centre

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Steelcode](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steelcode/gifts).



> Here we go!! Another story!! (yes, i know, another!! I just can't stop!!)  
> I'm in love with this idea, so thank you to Steelcode for the prompt!!  
> This is new to me; a new challenge, so please be gentle with me. I'm experimenting with this as I go along!!  
> Remember people, it's only a work of fiction :)  
> Also, its almost 1am here, and so I apolgoise for any mistakes!! I'll sort them out soon, promise!!  
> Please though, read on and hopefully, enjoy!!

** Chapter 1 **

Jensen was a nobody. Always had been, always would be.

So why was there someone following him?

Jensen didn’t have any money; only having 3cents to his name right now. Jensen didn’t have any valuables, having sold the last one (his mother’s, beloved pocket watch) last week just so he could pay the rent and buy a bit of food. He lost all his family, and he’d never had friends. He couldn’t even keep a job for more than 2 weeks at a time, and the job offers were becoming less and less frequent. There really wasn’t anything interesting about him, or anything that made him special. He kept himself to himself, kept his head down and just got on with life as best he could – no matter how shitty it got.

So, really, why had someone been following him since he’d left the store? He’d only popped in to buy a loaf of bread; surely, they didn’t want to rob him for that?

He wasn’t flaunting anything shiny (not that he had anything shiny _to_ flaunt). And his clothes were mucky and dirty, where he didn’t have enough quarters to pay for the laundrette.

So why was this person following him?

Jensen kept wanting to look back, and check that the guy was still there. But he couldn’t bring himself to; he didn’t want the creep to know that he knew he was there. He hurried his pace up a bit, took a wrong turning here and there, hoping to lose him along the way. Nope. Jensen could still feel him there, lingering in the shadows.

Jensen shouldn’t have gone out. He should have stayed home. He should have gone in the morning. Yes, he was hungry and didn’t have anything in the cupboards, but he’d gone without for longer. He should have just sucked it up and gone without food until the morning. At least then it would have been light, and the creep wouldn’t have the guts to do anything with people around – right?

Jensen kept subtly speeding up, and a quick glance over his shoulder told him that so did the creep.

And that’s all it took. Jensen, distracted, looking for his stalker. He didn’t see the missing brick in the sidewalk. His foot got caught, and he went crashing down, putting his arms out in front of him to ease the blow.

The footsteps, the ones that had been following him, sped up to a run until they came to a stop beside Jensen. Jensen heaved, hissing at the pain that was slowly spreading through him, with pressure points on his palms, knees and ankle.

“Shit! Mike’s gonna kill me for this!” The creep cursed. He had a British accent.

This was it. Dean knew it. He was going to be murdered by some British guy. And he would never know why. What made him worth killing?

“Hey, mate!” The British guys voice was louder all of a sudden, and it made Jensen jump. He pushed himself up, noticing that the bread he’d just brought had been squashed underneath him. “You okay?”

Jensen jumped again when the creep’s hands wrapped around him, helping yank him up.

“G’off me!” Jensen cried, pushing away, causing him to fall backwards and fall on his bum.

“Woah, woah!” The creep held his hands out, trying to show that he wasn’t a threat. He spoke almost in a patronizing tone, as if one would speak to a scared child, or spooked pet. “I only want to help!”

“You were following me! I’m going to call the police!” Jensen wasn’t about to mention that he didn’t have a phone to do just that and hoped that the threat alone was enough to send the guy running in the opposite direction.

“Okay, you got me,” The guy sighed. “Look let me explain…”

“No!” Jensen cried, pushing himself back up to his feet. He swiped his bread up, acting more confident than he actually felt. “Leave me alone, or I will call the cops.”

He stalked on, but froze two steps later with the words that left the creep’s mouth next.

“I know you don’t have a phone, Jensen.”

“How do you know my name?” Jensen cried, spinning back round. Oh great, he really did have a stalker. This was not good, not good at all. There was no one about, no one he could call for help. He was stuck, in the middle of the street with some creep that knew his name. Oh boy, he was really going to die.

“I know a lot about you Jen,” The guy said. “Please. I’m a friend of your mother’s.”

“You can’t be,” Jensen denied a moment later, having let those words sink in. “You can’t be!”

“Can’t I?” The man asked innocently, looking almost sad. “Donna was a great friend.”

Jensen said nothing, having not heard his mother’s name spoken to him with such fondness since her funeral, a year ago. He ignored that for the moment, watching the guy carefully; he wasn’t sure whether to trust him, but he knew his mother, and he knew him… so maybe he was telling the truth.

“Look,” The British guy sighed, when it was obvious Jensen wasn’t going to utter another word. “I’m sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name’s Balthazar. Like I said, I was a good friend of your mothers. She spoke about you often.”

“How come she never mentioned you,” Jensen squared him up. He watched for any sign of panic or a moments hesitation, to try and catch the guy out, but there was none.

“Can’t you tell by the accent? I came over from London to study, and I just so happened to be studying alongside your mother. I had planned to stay in America once graduated, but I was called back to England due to urgent family matters of my own; and I just got stuck there for a little while. I spoke to Donna occasionally, checked in every month or so. She spoke about you a lot Jen. You were her pride and joy. She adored you.”

Jensen felt his eyes prickle. He didn’t want to believe the guy, but he really was starting to.

“But then one day, everything stopped. I stopped receiving her messages. I couldn’t believe it when I found out about her death. I wanted to come sooner. But I’ve only just managed to break myself away from the cycle I was stuck in back in England. And when I saw you in the store; I had to help you Jen. Donna wouldn’t want me to leave her son alone like this.”

“Like what?” Jensen snapped, demanding to know.

“Look, I’m not going to deny it, Jensen,” Balthazar held up his hands again, not sounding guilty in the slightest. “I’ve been watching you for the last couple of days.”

“You fucking creep!”

“I was trying to figure out a way of… coming forth I guess and confronting you.”

“You could have just knocked on my front door you know!” Jensen snapped.

“I think it would blow over if I attempted to knock,” Balthazar grimaced.

“Look, Pal,” Jensen cried. “I don’t know who you think you are! But it’s my home! It’s not much, and its not great, but it’s mine! And where do you get off thinking you ‘can’t leave me alone like this’, I’m 20!”

“Jensen,” Balthazar sighed, sadly this time. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to help. Come back to mine for a while – maybe even just a night. I’ve got a little place two blocks from here. I’ve got heating and hot water. You can have a shower, a bath. I’ve got food, a meal and soups to warm you up. I’ve got some clean clothes too, some new shoes. And we can wash the ones you’re wearing now. Please, Jensen. Let me help you.”

Jensen tummy grumbled, and the bitter wind chilled him to the core. He couldn’t deny that offer. And if he truly knew his mum… then surely, he was a good man. Right?

-X-

Balthazar wasn’t lying.

The apartment was warm and inviting the moment he stepped inside. Balthazar had offered him food first, but Jensen wanted to be clean. And if the guy was offering hot water then Jensen was going to jump on it.

He didn’t truly trust Balthazar just yet, but he followed the guy down the hall and into the bathroom. Balthazar even supplied a change of clothes for him to sleep in and then left, promising to be in the kitchen while he showered.

Jensen took his time. He pondered over the shampoos and body wash on offer before deciding. How could someone want so many, he didn’t know. The hot water was nice, and it was satisfying to watch a couple weeks-worth of dirt and grime wash away down the plug hole.

When he was dried and dressed, Jensen slowly ventured back down the hallway, a little unsure. He found Balthazar where he said he would be, in the kitchen. The guy had his back to him, and Jensen found himself wondering why he was helping someone like him? It didn’t matter that he’d known his mother. Jensen could potentially take anything he could see and walk straight out the door. He could steal anything while the guy wasn’t looking.

Balthazar turned around, and jumped when he spotted Jensen.

“Jesus, Jensen,” He cried, holding his hand over his heart for a moment. “Don’t sneak up on me like that! You should come with a bell or something!”

He then chuckled slightly, as if he was laughing at his own inside joke. Jensen narrowed his eyes, but when Balthazar brought over a bowl of soup and a glass of cloudy water, Jensen forgot all about it.

“Come, sit,” Balthazar ordered lightly, pointing to the chair. He smirked again at his words, but Jensen didn’t even realise, too entranced with the warm food being offered.

Jensen didn’t waste a drop of the tomato soup, or the two slices of bread.

“Was that okay?” Balthazar asked, after he’d finished. Jensen nodded, swallowing his last mouthful and reaching for the cloudy water.

“Cloudy lemonade,” Balthazar offered, when Jensen looked at the drink curiously. “I can get you anything you like though. I mean, I’ve got water, coffee, juice…”

“No, this is fine,” Jensen mumbled, overwhelmed with those choices. It was nice to have something a little different than his usual drink. Because it had been so long since he’d had anything but water, he didn’t even notice that slight sour taste to the drink.

“How are you feeling now?” Balthazar smiled.

“Good,” Jensen explained, smiling back. And then a second later, he suddenly wasn’t. He felt heavy all over, dizzy and nauseas. He blinked desperately as his sight went blurry. His head was spinning and he slurred something, trying to ask what was happening.

“That’ll be the drug,” Balthazar exclaimed casually. “The one I slipped into your drink before you came down.”

Jensen knew it! He shouldn’t have trusted him. He should have known that the guy was nothing but a creep. And now he was drugged up and helpless, with no knowledge of what was going to happen next. He was a fucking idiot. He was never going to trust another living soul when he got out of this… if he got out of this.

The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was Balthazar coming towards him.

-X-

“He fell, when I was chasing him.”

Jensen tried to focus on that voice. He knew that voice. It was British.

“He fell?”

Oh no. Jensen didn’t like the harsh sound of that voice, and he tried to cringe away from it, but found himself unable to move.

“He fell, Balthazar? You scraped the goods!?”

“I didn’t mean to! He caught his foot in a hole!”

And then there were cold hands on his legs, followed by a hum.

“It’s not too bad. Other than that?”

“The capture went smoothly. No one saw. And if they did, they saw two men walking with each other willingly. There was no one around, and it was too dark to see faces out of any windows.”

There was silence for a minute.

“Right, let’s get him in a crate then and ship him to the centre.”

“Yes boss!”

Jensen lost complete consciousness again

…

He was someone bright. It was cold and sterile, and Jensen knew straight away that he was in a hospital of some sort. He groaned and looked around.

There was a scurry around him, and suddenly Jensen’s sight was taken up by a man he had never seen before.

“Hello there,” He smiled down at Jensen. Jensen blinked a few times and groaned again, unable to do or say much else. He tried to raise his arms, but found them secured to the table. He pulled at his feet. But they were secured too.

No. No. This wasn’t good.

He started struggling, pulling at the bonds more forcefully (or as forcefully as he could in his drugged state) and the panic was settling over him quickly.

“Don’t worry boy,” The man cooed gently, petting Jensen’s chest a few times before rubbing in a circular motion. The touch made him realise that he was buck naked and he struggled some more. The guys voice was familiar, and he recognised it as the one that had spoken to Balthazar. “Calm down, pet.”

The voice was soothing and sweet, slightly high pitched, spoken in a tone one would speak to a cat, or a dog.

Jensen didn’t like it.

“Hey, hey,” The voice continued to speak. Jensen kept his eyes tightly squeezed shut as he pulled the bonds securing his hands and feet. “Listen. The nice vet is going to give you a sedative so you’re nice and calm and won’t feel any pain.”

That last word set Jensen into fresh panic.

Pain. No!

Jensen was in too much of a panic to notice the terms the guy was using were using. He was just hearing certain words, the ones that seemed most important at the moment.

“Hey,” The voice returned, sweet and soothing. “You’re going to be okay. When you wake up, you’ll be fine. A little sore; but you’ll have your new ears. Won’t that be nice? No more human ears for the pup. And a brand new tail; hmm? You're going to look so pretty with your tail! Yes you are! Good boy; good pup!”

No, no, no, no! Jensen still wasn’t sure what was going on, and he hadn’t heard everything the guy had said; he just knew it wasn’t good!

The next thing he knew, there was a sharp sting in his bicep and he within seconds he was out cold again.

…

His ears hurt.

The bottom of his spine hurt.

Oh god.

It really hurt!

He was still quite disorientated and he didn’t know where he was or what was going on. He just knew that he was in complete and utter agony.

He raised his hands to cup his ears first, to feel them, to make sure they were okay. But he couldn’t touch them.

His hands. He opened his eyes to see. His hands were wrapped in some soft mitten type things, and he could feel it now; underneath the cotton, his hands were wrapped and tied in fists.

No. This was so not good. He felt sick.

Even though he didn't have use of his hands, he let them trail to the pain blossoming just above his ass. When he felt it, he pulled back, calling out in shock. There was something there, something soft and hairy attached to him. He tried to twist to get a good look, but he couldn't. He could just see the end of the thing; it didn't move, but Jensen realised what it was; a tail.

What. The. Fuck.

He groaned.

“The mittens are only temporary.”

Jensen jumped at the voice. It spoke as if the mittens on Jensen's hands were the thing worrying him most of all. They were the least of Jensen's worries right now.

“Easy boy, easy,” The voice coaxed. And suddenly there was a hand coming towards him carefully, holding it out as if for him to shake, but Jensen couldn’t with the stupid mittens on. The hand belonged to a tall man. “I’m not going to hurt you,” He promised.

And Jensen recognised his voice. It was the guy, from before.

Jensen flinched when he reached out and put his hand on his head. But when a blow didn’t come, Jensen reluctantly allowed the touch, hoping the guy could give him answers.

“The mittens are only temporary,” The guy repeated himself, beginning to scratch at Jensen’s scalp lightly. “They’re to stop you clawing at your sore ears, pup.”

Jensen had no fucking clue what the guy was on about, but what else was new lately.

“Here.”

And suddenly the guys touch was gone. Jensen cracked open his eyes again, not having realised he’d closed them to come face to face with a mirror.

That wasn’t his reflection. It couldn’t be.

The man in the mirror was pale, and skinny. He had dark circles around his eyes, the eyes hollow. And then there was the ears. Jensen’s ears didn’t stick out that much. Jensen turned to the left to see the ear properly. It was a different shape, taller, and with a rounded point. And there was hair, fur, dusting the top part. It was the same on the right.

Jensen was going to be sick.

“What..?” Jensen tried to ask, but nothing came out.

“We numbed your vocal cords too,” The guy spoke, putting the mirror away. “It makes it easier for you to understand that pups like you don’t say human words.”

Jensen was shown two dishes on the floor. One with water and the other food. He was informed of the puppy pad in the corner if he needed to do his business. And what he was currently sat on was actually a large dogs bed.

What on earth was happening here?

Jensen panicked again.

The guy brought out a syringe and then Jensen was out again.

…

It continued like that. Jensen barely ate; he couldn’t bring himself to eat the dry pellets they left out for him to eat as if he was a dog.

But that was the thing. He quickly caught on that, that’s what they were trying to do… they were trying to turn him into a dog.

Why? Jensen hadn’t worked that bit out yet. They kept his vocal cords numb, so he hadn’t had chance to ask.

And then one day, 4 people piled into the space he had started to refer to as his cell.

Two of them were holding a crate of some sort. And, Jensen realised with horror, it was a pet crate.

He didn’t want to stay in his cell, but he wanted in the crate even less! He fought them, but he was kept slightly drugged (he was sure it was in the water), and soon they had him where they wanted him, pushing him into the crate.

The cage fell shut and slid locked with a ringing click. Jensen didn’t like that one bit.

There wasn’t much room to move about, Jensen found. Although it was soft inside. He could just about crouch comfortably, but that was about it. And then the crate was lifted and he was being moved. He made a noise of complaint, banging on the side of the crate a few times to let them know his displeasure.

Suddenly there was a hand hitting repeatedly on the cage door of the crate in warning. The noise shocked Jensen and made him freeze.

“Knock it off, pup,” He was ordered. And he listened, cowering back as much as he could.

He was taken into a room. He couldn’t see much from the crate, but he could make out there were more people in the room.

“Thank you, guys,” The voice that Jensen had gotten used to hearing around spoke.  _Michael._ The guys name was Michael.

There was movement for a moment and then the sound of a door shutting before a silence fell. Jensen wished he could see properly. He couldn’t see anything from where the crate had been put, but he could sense that there were other people in the room.

“So, gentlemen,” Michael started, sounding very professional and nothing like the way he spoke to Jensen. “Shall we talk fees?”

 _Fees_?! They were selling him?!

He could feel his panic rising, but he forced himself to calm; to listen to the voices.

There were two new voices. One a deeper, calming one and another lighter and bright. Jensen shook his head, trying to hear the words.

“We’re going to do the whole hog,” The lighter voice explained. “Start him small.”

“Wise idea,” Michael said. “I must say I agree and advice most people to start them small. This one’s certainly got fire; he’s going to need a strong hand. So starting him so small may be just what he needs.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” The deeper voice assured him.

“Yeah!” The lighter voice agreed. “We got one at home that sounds just like that!”

While Michael, and the lighter voice made small talk, a shadow fell on the crate. Jensen cowered back when hands fumbled to open it and reached inside.

The guy was tall, and Jensen didn’t like it. He didn’t, and couldn't, get a good look at the guy before something was slipped over his eyes. He bucked slightly, turning his head to try and dislodge it.

“New-born pups can’t see, or hear,” The deeper voice spoke quietly to him. And then hands travelled down to his ears and pressed something inside each one. And Jensen realised, in panic, that he couldn’t hear a damn thing.

He prickled with anticipation as to what was going to happen next.

He jumped when a gentle hand took his and folded it into a fist. He wanted to fight, but he was too scared and he left the fabric of a mitten he’d got so used to feeling be slid over his hand and tied off around his wrist so he couldn’t get it off. The same process was repeated with the other hand.

After a few seconds, the gently hand was back. Jensen couldn't see or hear the advances, but he could feel as the hand was reached further into the crate, and it wasn't that something sharp was pushed into his thigh that Jensen realised the guy had been holding a needle. Almost instantly, Jensen felt all feeling in both his legs dissipate.

And then something soft, but firm, and so, so cold was pressed up against his neck and Jensen jumped back. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, he couldn't feel his legs and he didn’t have control of his hands.  His nerves were on edge, his body waiting for an attack that would never come. He was so scared.

The hands of the guy finally left him and he couldn’t tell whether he was still there, whether the crate was closed. He couldn’t tell if the two other men were talking. He couldn’t even tell if it was light anymore.

He squealed, or at least he think he did, when the crate was jostled. It took him a moment to realise that it had been picked up and he was being moved. Without his sight or sound, he had no chance of even making a guess at where he was being taken, or by whom. His fear had skyrocketed and he just wanted to go home. He had never asked for any of this.

Then the crate came to another stop. Jensen tried to stretch his hearing, but he really couldn’t hear anything. He tried to use his useless, covered hands to remove the blindfold or the ear plugs, but it was no good. He was completely and utterly helpless.

A soft rumbling vibration started underneath him, and poor old Jensen whose nerves were shot to pieces fell apart, unable to stop himself as he pissed himself from fear. He broke down, crying. He didn’t know how much noise he was making, he couldn’t bring himself to care, especially when he realised that the vibrations that were still continuing were the vibrations of a car taking him to god knows where.

-X-

Gabe and Cas smiled at each other as they pulled away from the Human Pet Society Centre, their new pup safely in his crate in the boot of the SUV.

They had picked a good one, Cas just had a feeling.


	2. The Vet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working very closely with Steelcode on this chapter, and plan to continue to do so over the whole story!! We'e got so many ideas and plans we want to include!! It's a pleasure to be working with you!! <3 <3  
> I've been back over the last chapter and lowered Jensen's age; he's now 20, not 24.  
> And I've added a few things to the last chater as well which include Jensen getting a tail as well as his edited ears and when Cas slips the blindfold over his eyes and the ear plugs in his ears he also gets given a shot to numb his legs so he can't move them. You can go back and read these if you like, but they're not huge edits.

** Chapter 2 **

It was exciting, arriving home for the first time with their new pup. This was a road that they’d taken before, with their first pup (who wasn’t really a pup anymore) and it was a road they couldn’t wait to take again. Being there to watch the puppy meet his milestones and guide him through new experiences meant everything to them; it was an absolute pleasure.

As the two brothers climbed out of the car, Gabe noticed the curtain at the front window sway slightly, and he chuckled.

“Someone’s watching us,” He pointed out to Cas. Cas glanced round, having had his back to the house and smiled wide when he spotted a slither of tanned skin between the now parted curtain.

“Come on,” Cas instructed, pressing a button on the car and keys to unlock the trunk. “Let’s get this one inside.”

It was silent and still in the trunk, but there was a tension filled atmosphere as the pup was anticipating the next moment. As soon as the brother’s pulled the brown crate towards them and hoisted it up together effortlessly, the young pup inside seemed to wake, thrashing about, vocalizing his panic. The brother’s paid him no mind currently and carried the crate across the driveway and gently placed it down on the porch.

Cas returned to the car to lock up, and Gabe fumbled with the house keys.

The curtains in the front room moved again, and now he was nearer to the house, Gabe could head as the dog inside ran to the front door to greet his owners. He was whining and yipping, and Gabe smiling fondly.

Finally, Gabe managed to unlock the door and push it open. He didn’t try to move the crate, knowing that he was going to need Cas’ help to do that; but he wouldn’t have been able to move it by himself, even if he wanted to. There was suddenly a huge, tanned, brown haired mop attacking him, trying to climb him like a tree.

Gabriel laughed and pushed the human dog away.

“Down, Sammy,” He admonished lightly, unable to be really mad. The dog was yipping and barking in greeting. “Down!”

The dog eventually listened and got back down on all fours and instead started running in circles around his owner, pleased that he was home again.

And then Cas was there, and the human dog was up on his knees again, trying to attack Cas with an onslaught of kisses. Cas was a bit firmed with him, but the dog didn’t seem to mind, wagging his tail happily as he tried to figure out the new, but familiar scents and smells on his new owners.

“Alright, alright,” Gabe called lightly, realising that they weren’t going to be able to get past the front door if Sammy wasn’t moved. “Get back you savage beast!” He jabbed at the dog playfully, grabbing Sam’s leather collar and halting the excited movement.

Sammy seemed to think it was another game and started wagging his tail in earnest again, trying desperately to lick Gabe’s hand. Gabe pulled him gently over to the side.

“Sit, Sammy,” He ordered, voice slightly harder than it had been a moment ago. In an instant; the dog dropped to his backside, legs curled up underneath him, front paws coming to rest on the floor just in front of his bent knees. He let his tongue lull out a little and his tail started wagging again. “Good boy. Stay.”

And he did. At least, he stayed long enough for Cas and Gabe to carry the crate inside and close the front door.

Sammy seemed to only be noticing the crate for the first time now, and he dashed forward. His tail was still now and stood high in interest as he sniffed around the crate, smelling and investigating the new thing.

They needed to get the new pup out of the crate and into the nest, so that they could keep him warm; after all, he couldn’t regulate his own body temperature properly yet. Sam, however, seemed to be everywhere and all at once as he sniffed out the crate, always getting in the way whenever one of the brother’s tried to grab it.

“Come on Sammy,” Gabe ordered, pushing at the dog again. But Sam didn’t listen, only righted himself from his slight tumble and positioned himself in front of the crate, sniffing desperately and eyeing the small pup inside. He yipped at it, trying to get it’s attention, but he poor thing only shivered and didn’t even flinch at his bark.

“Sam!”

Sam did stop at the sharp voice of Castiel and looked up at his owners for a moment. His eyes were wide and he looked like he had no idea what he had done wrong to warrant such a harsh tone.

“Bed!”

Sam didn’t ignore an order barked in that tone, and he reluctantly slinked off into the living room and curled up on his doggy bed. He slumped his head down, resting it over his paws and he sulked. With the downstairs being open planned, Sam watched as his owners picked up the crate and carried it away from him and into the kitchen area. He whined, and lifted his head, pining for their attention.

“Did you have to be so harsh?” Gabe asked Cas as they put down the crate, ignoring the panicked whimpers coming from inside. He looked over his shoulder at Sam, who hopefully held his head higher when he noticed Gabe was looking at him.

“I barely raised my voice,” Cas shrugged, rolling his eyes. He wasn’t sorry in the slightest. “You’re just too soft on him. And besides; we’ve got the pup to worry about at the moment. Sam can have all our attention in a moment, once the pup is settled.”

Gabe sighed, but didn’t argue, because his younger brother was right. About everything. And of course, he had a soft spot for Sammy, that was his dog. They shared ownership of course, but it was clear to everyone that Sam and Gabe shared a special bond.

“Shall we get him out then?” Gabe asked, changing the subject slightly.

Cas nodded, and they got to work.

The nest was in the kitchen, and it was where the new puppy was going to be spending the first 3 to four weeks of his life, exclusively. The area was about 6ft by 6ft. It was surrounded by a 4ft high, wooden barrier, to try and deter Sammy mainly, but also so that they new pup couldn’t wriggle away from the warmth and the heat the nest would provide and what he so desperately needed in these first few weeks. The floor was lined with puppy training pads, in case of accidents (and there would be accidents) and a thick, fluffy, puppy mattress to chase away the cold of the floor. The nest was against kitchen radiator, which was going to be on at all times to help keep the nest warm. And there had to be a million blankets piled high for the puppy to burrow and nest in. There were a few toys littered around, but both Cas and Gabe knew that the puppy wasn’t going to be playing with them too soon.

Gabe unlatched the lock of the nest and swung the handmade door open. The pup inside the crate was getting restless, and the owners tried soothing him, even though they knew he couldn’t hear them. Cas stepped inside the nest and crouched down to open the crate.

They would have left him to come out on his own devices, but the poor pup had been given a shot to make his legs go numb, and he wouldn’t be able to move much, having to use his arms to pull himself along. So, Cas slowly put his hands inside the crate, expecting the flinch and the warning, frightened whines; he didn’t stop though. He laced his hands under the pup’s underarms and carefully pulled him out.

“There, there,” Cas shushed the pup, gently running his hand through the fur on top of the pup’s head.  Gabriel pulled the crate away and stepped into its place.

The puppy was struggling, trying to pull away.

“We’re going to need a cloth,” Cas ordered. “Poor things had an accident.”

Gabriel hurried away and returned only seconds later with a damp cloth. He handed it to Cas and let his brother wipe away the evidence of the accident. The puppy whined low in his throat, sounding frightened and scared. Cas and Gabe continued to shush him as they together hoisted him up and placed him gently on top of the comfy blanket mountain.

There was a thick, red blanket folded up over one side of the fence, and Gabriel grabbed it. They’d saved this one back especially. Cas sat down gracefully, beside the struggling pup.

The puppy cringed when Cas started stroking up and down his back. The pup was on his front, buck naked – as he would stay for the rest of his life.

“You’re okay, puppy,” Cas muttered softly, voice kind as he continued stroking the pale skin up and back. “You’re okay. Good boy.”

Gabe draped the blanket over the small puppy and tucked it in, ignoring the way the pup flinched away from his touch; it was usual when the poor things nerves were heightened, anticipating the next touch that he couldn’t see or hear. He would get used to it eventually and learn to even lean into the touches.

Once the pup was all wrapped up nice and warm, Gabe helped Cas stand up again and the two brothers stepped back to watch him for a minute.

The puppy was trying to push himself up onto his hands and knees, but he couldn’t get his legs to even twitch. He was having a hard time even keeping himself up on his hands and kept collapsing back down onto his front. He was trying so hard to move, to pull himself along with just his hands, attempting a feeble crawl. He wasn’t getting anywhere though. He was whining and pining, vocalizing loudly as he thrashed his head from side to side; it was as if he was trying to find something in his blind and deaf state.

“Aww, bless him,” Gabe smiled fondly. “The poor pup’s trying to find his mama.”

“I’ll get a bottle,” Cas beamed, his heart doubling in size at the sight of the pup. He turned to leave the nest, but he stopped when he realised that they were being watched by a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

“Gabe,” He muttered, getting the attention of his older brother. Gabriel spun round, turning his back to the puppy, and he too spotted the suddenly guilty eyes.

Gabe couldn’t help smiling at the sight of Sammy peering round the kitchen doorway, watching them carefully. He knew that he should still be in his bed, where Cas had ordered him to go, but he’d been interested and there was a new pup! Gabe could certainly indulge him a little.

“Come here, Sammy,” Gabe nodded, giving the dog all the encouragement and confidence he needed to hold his head high and trot into the room.

Cas stepped around Sammy as he went further into the kitchen to make up a special bottle of milk for the puppy with all the nutrients and supplements he was going to need for a great start in life.

Sam slowed down when he reached the nest. It had been made up for a little while, and he had shown great interest in it, but he’d always been scolded when he tried to get inside; it wasn’t for him. So, he was a little wary as he popped his head round the edge, looking at the bundle of blankets, and the struggling pup before looking up at his owner.

Gabe crouched down and patted his thigh and Sam slowly and carefully walked into the nest. He wanted to sniff and explore the new pup; he felt a need to help him and care for him. He knew though that he’d probably be kicked out of the nest before he got a chance to do that.

“Hey Sammy,” Gabe greeted, ruffling the hair on top of the dog’s head, taking a moment to scratch behind his ears, in the place that Sammy like so much. Sammy’s tail wagged and his tongue lulled out of his mouth in appreciation, and Gabe laughed at him. “This is the new pup; he doesn’t have a name yet because Daddy hasn’t chosen one yet.”

“Yes, I have!” Cas called over, a little exasperated. He was suddenly looking over the fence of the nest. “I told you.”

“And I told you that Dean is too h-u-m-a-n,” Gabe rolled his eyes. Sam tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at his owners spelling. He let it go, not worrying about it or trying to even work out what the letters spelt, choosing instead to nudge Gabe’s hand in a request to get him to resume scratching his ear.

“And Sammy isn’t?” Cas fired back.

“No,” Gabe shook his head, bringing his hand found to tickle under Sammy’s chin. He cooed as he spoke the next bit, making out he was talking to Sam, but Cas knew it was actually directed at him. “Sammy is a very popular doggy name; isn’t it? Yes, it is!”

“You said I could choose the name, Gabriel,” Cas stated firmly, standing his ground. He was not going to back down from this. “And I like Dean.”

Sam barked, looking over his shoulder at Cas with a smile on his face.

“What?” Gabe cried, almost outraged. “You like it too, Sammy?”

Sammy barked again.

“Ugh,” Gabe stood up. He pretended to sound annoyed, but he really didn’t. “Fine. I guess the new puppy’s called Dean then.”

Sam barked, and wagged his tail even faster, looking up at Gabriel in silent question. The owner seemed to know what the dog was asked, and he waved his hand in the direction of the blankets before placing his hands on his hips.

“Gentle, Sammy,” Gabe instructed as Cas sauntered away with a huge, successful smile on his face. “He’s very, very small.”

The puppy, Dean, grunted and cringed back when Sammy started sniffing over his face. Jensen tried moving away again, but he managed nothing before giving up and weakly pushing at the face that was sniffing him.

Gabriel laughed when Sammy started giving the pup a tongue bath, but he didn’t stop the older dog.

“Looks like Sammy’s paternal instincts are kicking in,” Cas observed as he made his way back into the nest with the bottle of milk.

“Sammy would make a great Dad,” Gabe commented off handily. He then whistled to try and get Sammy to come back to him.

Sammy lifted his head and looked at Gabe. But what he did next surprised the two brothers. Sam paced around Jensen for a second before curling up around him, protectively.

“He’d make a great dad,” Gabe repeated himself. “But I think he’s going to mother this pup.”

Cas laughed, and then moved towards the two human pups. Sammy lifted his head from where he’d laid and looked around the nest as if to be assessing it. Jensen though, he was still whining, panicking as he tried to struggle away from Sammy.

Cas cooed down at the puppy and stroked his hair again. He couldn’t blame the poor thing when it flinched away from him. He was just so helpless and was so new to the world that he didn’t know who he could trust right now.

“Hey, now,” Cas shushed, as he lifted the pups head gently and guided it until he was resting in his lap. “Going to give you a bottle, hmm? Some warm milk to fill that empty tummy, puppy?”

Sam watched in fascination, tilting his head to the side. Gabe found himself wondering whether Sammy could remember his time as a pup, blind and deaf like this?

Jensen wriggled, pulling away from Cas’ touch, but not getting very far. And then Cas pressed the nipple of the bottle into the puppy’s mouth, and he started sucking on it straight away.

It was silent for a moment, as if everyone realised that this was a special moment. The only sound that surrounded them was the noisy suckling of the puppy and his bottle.

“Would you look at that,” Gabe hushed in amazement. He crossed his arms and smiled. “The pup’s a natural.”

When the bottle was finished, Cas re-settled the pup back in the blankets, making sure that he was completely covered and warm. He stood from the nest of blankets, smiling in wonder at the young pup.

Jensen’s wriggling and attempts at movement were slowing, until eventually they stopped all together and the puppy’s chest starting rising and falling at a comfortable pace.

“The drugs’ll wear off in a few hours,” Cas explained. It was vital that at this stage, the puppy slept a lot so they could grow big and strong, and for a human pup it was also to remind them that they didn’t decide what they did and when, that was their owners decision. “But Lucifer should be here soon after that.”

Gabriel nodded, then whistled again, patting his thigh.

“Come on Sam,” He called, a bit firmer this time. “Let’s leave the puppy alone for now. We’ll come check back up on him in a bit.”

Sam cast one last look over Dean, licked his face a few times but then he stood and trotted after his owners happily.

-X-

Lucifer was the owner and manager of ‘Little Devil’s Veterinary Surgery’ in their small town, and he was well known for his speciality in the human-animals field. He was a family friend too and had worked alongside the Novak’s family farm for decades. So, Cas and Gabe hadn’t hesitated to give him a ring when they knew they were getting a new pup.

Lucifer had been great and had promised to do a home visit as soon as they brought the new addition home.

He was Sam’s vet too. And although Sammy warmed up to him pretty quickly, he was always a little bit wary of the guy to begin with whenever they saw him. They all put this down to the fact that most dogs were scared of the vet, and the experience Sammy had had with a sedative back when he’d been a young pup himself. Sammy was in to get castrated (it was almost a given to do this to all male pups, unless there were plans to breed them). Lucifer had administered the sedative, but Sammy had an allergic reaction and it all had to be called off; the poor pup had been quite poorly afterwards.

“Lucifer,” Cas beamed, feeling giddy with excitement at the sight of the vet. “Come in. Thank you so much for this!”

“You know it’s no problem, Castiel,” Lucifer smiled back, grabbing his stuff and carrying it inside. “It saves you a trip, and I get to charge you extra!”

They both laughed, because they both knew this wasn’t true. Because of how closely the vet and the Novak family worked, they got a huge discount.

“Hey Luci!” Gabe called from the kitchen. “Drink?”

“Just water please,” Lucifer called back. “How’s the new pup settling in?”

Castiel lit up again at the chance to talk about him, even though this was the whole point of this appointment. He reached forward to take a few things from Lucifer as his equipment looked heavy.

“He settling in well,” Cas nodded as he led the way through the house and towards the kitchen. “We’ve introduced Sam to him, and that went well; although I’m not sure if the pup realised that Sammy was a dog like him.”

Lucifer smiled at the fond way that Cas already spoke about the pup. There wasn’t a doubt about it, the new pup was going to be spoiled as hell by the dark-haired man.

“He’ll work it out soon,” Lucifer reassured. “And it’s great that you’ve introduced them so early on; they should create such a strong bond.”

“That’s what we thought,” Cas explained, relief settling in him that they’d done right. He felt like this was his first time doing this, even though it wasn’t. “Sam’s been mothering him.”

Lucifer laughed as he put some of his stuff on the table and greeted Gabriel properly. The three of them made pleasant small talk between them for a few moments, Lucifer mentioning his most recent adventure on the family farm which included helping birth some lambs.

“Where’s Sammy then?” Lucifer asked, noticing the big dog was missing.

And then, as if he’d been summoned by the sound of his name, Sammy came trundling through the dog-flap in the kitchen door, muddy from the garden. He looked happy with himself as he shook his head, sending leaves from his hair flying everywhere.

“Have you had your head in that bush again, Sammy?” Cas grumbled, almost disapprovingly.

Sammy paid him no mind, especially when he looked up and clapped eyes on the vet. He tensed up, and bowed his head slightly submissively, but didn’t take his eyes off of Lucifer.

“Hiya Sammy!” Lucifer smiled happily, like he always did.

Sammy darted away quickly, curling around the kitchen chair and hiding behind Gabriel’s legs.

“Oh Sammy,” Gabe sighed, his hand coming down to rustle the dog’s messy hair. “It’s only Lucifer.”

“Hey, Sammy,” Lucifer called. His voice was soft, and not very loud. He was off his chair and crouched down to Sammy’s height. In his hand was a treat, and it spiked the dogs interest. “I’ve got something for you!”

This was like routine. It happened every time Sammy came into contact with Lucifer. The vet had speculated that Sammy was just doing it now for the treat, and it honestly wouldn’t surprise either owner if that was the case.

Sammy glanced up at Gabriel as if asking permission.

“Go on,” Gabe offered quietly. And Sammy slowly slunk over to Lucifer, before gently taking the doggy treat between his teeth.

“Good boy,” Lucifer praised, running his hand through Sammy’s hair, down his neck and over his shoulders as he nibbled the treat down.

Then they were interrupted by a small whimpering and snuffling coming from the corner of the kitchen. Everyone’s attention was suddenly taken.

“I think someone’s awake,” Gabe noted, obviously.

“May I?” Lucifer asked, using his knees as support as he stood up.

“Course,” Cas nodded, standing up as well.

Sammy hadn’t waited for permission, and he was already stood at the fence surrounding the nest, pawing at it and nudging his head against the wood, whining low in his throat.

“Calm your horses Sammy,” Cas grumbled, more to himself than the dog. He looked to Lucifer before asking his next question. “Can I let him in; or shall I just send him to bed?”

At the sound of ‘bed’, Sammy’s whines increased; he didn’t want to go to bed. The new pup needed him. Lucifer watched the older dog for a minute, then glanced over the barrier at the puppy. He was tiny, looking every bit the puppy. It always warmed the old vet’s heart when he saw a new born.

“No, let him in,” Lucifer decided after a moment. “Let’s see how the new pup reacts to him now.”

Cas unlatched the door, and Sammy darted in.

Gabe came to join them, and the trio stood just outside the nest to watch the interaction.

Sammy darted straight for the puppy’s face, sniffing him continuously. His nose travelled up and down the pup’s body, which was still covered in the blanket. Sammy then ventured further into the nest and retrieved a soft ball that had fallen into a corner and brought it back to the pup as a gift. He placed the ball at the pup’s head and nudged it towards him a few times before he circled round him and started patting down the blankets. He came to a rest beside the new pup, on his front, and he reached over to lick the new puppy’s neck a few times.

The new pup was whimpering the whole time. He’d jumped and cringed back when Sammy had first touched him with his nose; but he hadn’t been too bad after that. He barely flinched and was only letting a low whimpering sound escape him every so often as he let Sammy check him over.

“That’s good,” Lucifer observed. “That’s really good. Sammy’s already accepted him into his ‘pack’ by offering him toys and comfort. And the pup too,” He went on to explained. “With everything he’s been too; that’s a better reaction than most could have hoped for. I think you could almost go so far as to say, he himself is seeking out Sammy. Sammy is another source of warmth too, and the skin-on-skin contact should be able to tell the pup that Sammy is just like him; another comfort in itself to know that he’s ‘not the only one’.”

The two owners nodded, sharing pleased expressions.

“I know that you want them to be close,” Lucifer started. “So, I would personally suggest opening the door a couple of times a day and letting Sammy lie next to him like this. Leave them to their own devices and they should bond really well.”

Cas and Gabe nodded, liking this idea.

“Don’t let him in too often though,” Lucifer warned as he continued. “Because the pup will come to completely rely on Sammy; and while that’s okay, the pup should be relying completely on you. Sure, he can rely on Sammy too, but you guys should come first to this pup. And this transition period is, as you know, the most important time to build those bonds. Let Sammy and the pup be close, but make sure that the pup seeks you guys out too.”

This was new knowledge to the owners, as it was the first time they had brought a second pup home. So, they soaked up the information like sponges.

“Okay then,” Lucifer clapped his hands together, making Sammy glance over at him. “Shall we get started?”

Sammy was quickly kicked out of the nest and sent to his bed. The dog was reluctant to go, but a sharp pat to his rump had him scampering away. Lucifer gathered the things he needed for the moment, opening all of the tubs and things he’d brought with him before entering the nest carefully.

“Have you named him yet?” The vet asked as he crouched down next to the pup. Castiel came over to help him, while Gabriel stayed back, standing just inside the nest ready to jump in and help if need be.

Gabriel scoffed and crossed his arms. Castiel rolled his eyes at his brother’s reaction.

“Dean,” Cas explained. “We called him Dean!”

“ _Cas_. Cas called him Dean.”

“Good solid name,” Lucifer nodded. He gently pulled the blanket away from Dean, who’s grunting and whining picked up again. Lucifer soothed him softly, his hands gentle as they rubbed up and down his back. The pup was eager to get away, trying desperately to pull himself. “Someone’s eager to get moving.”

“Just a little,” Cas agreed with a small chuckle.

“Let’s weigh him first,” Lucifer decided.

The vet brought out a harness and Cas helped him slide it underneath the pup, ignoring the way he flinched at every slight touch. As Castiel tightened the harness to make sure it was a snug fit against Dean’s skin, Lucifer and Gabriel started putting together some metal poles, attaching a strong hook and a scale to the top of the tripod. Lucifer made sure the hook was low enough before attaching it to the strong D-ring on Dean’s harness.

The three adults braced themselves as Lucifer started working the wheel crank. Of course, the pup panicked and failed about, crying and pleading. Cas shushed him, crouching at his level and smoothing kind hands through his hair and over his face, trying to keep him still so that the scales could get a more accurate reading.

“I know Dean, I’m so sorry,” Lucifer apologised to the deaf puppy, sounding generally sorry.

As soon as the scales settled on a number, Lucifer jotted it down before working the wheel crack again, lowering it back to the ground.

“There we are,” Castiel shushed as he started to work the harness off of him. “All done. Good boy.”

Lucifer knew how unsettling having to be weighed like that could be, but unfortunately it was a necessary evil when they were so little like Dean. He let Dean calm down some with Castiel while he packed the weighing scales away, watching as the puppy slowly leant into Cas’ warm touch in comfort. He pointed this out; this was brilliant as the pup hadn’t been home even 6 hours yet! Castiel beamed, and Lucifer continued his tests.

He checked Dean’s heart, lungs, mouth and teeth. He felt his tummy and a few other surrounding organs but deemed everything okay. He couldn’t check the poor things eyes and ears at the moment as they were not in use yet, but he would be back to check them as soon as he grew into those senses. He took Dean’s blood pressure and temperature (the pup really did _not_ appreciate the thermometer in his little bottom!) and even took a few vials of blood to send off to the lab for screening. And lastly, he checked the pup’s paws and joints. As he went, he wrote down the information, before safely tucking the puppy back under his blanket, almost completely, to warm him up again.

Dean was shivering and was completely shaken from the examination he had just been put through. He was breathing heavily and not settling back down, anticipating more prodding and probing in areas he didn’t want.

Gabriel had prepared another bottle while the examination had been ongoing, and he handed it to Cas as the vet wrapped things up.

“Everything okay?” Gabriel asked when Lucifer stood up slowly.

“Yeah,” Lucifer nodded as he started packing away his stuff. “I’ll have to send his bloods off and get them looked at. I imagine they’re alright, but you can never be too certain.”

Knowing they were going to talk over all of Lucifer’s findings in a moment, Gabriel helped the vet pack up, and Cas tried settling the puppy a little more before feeding him the bottle. Dean latched on greedily, sucking the milk down like he was starving for it. The process of sucking and swallowing the warm formula, mixed with the petting and soothing from Cas seemed to calm the poor thing until he was leaning further and further into Cas’ touch.

Dean fell asleep, just as Lucifer snapped his last box shut.

“Okay,” The vet started when they were all sat round the table again, fresh drinks in front of them. “Pretty much everything was brilliant.”

“What wasn’t?” Castiel frowned, the worry evident on his face and in his tone.

“He’s a little underweight. He could do with putting on a few more pounds to bring him into a healthy weight range for his breed.”

The owners nodded, all ears. Gabriel reached down and rubbed Sammy’s soft hair as the dog came to settle at his feet, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Lucifer.

“It’s nothing to worry too much over. But what I’m going to do is prescribe you some different formula to use. I know you’ve just forked out for the stuff you’re using, but this will help I promise. What I’m going to give you is a lot richer in fats and sugars, while still suppling the nutrients and things he’ll need.”

“That’s fine,” Gabriel nodded in dismissal. “It honestly doesn’t matter that we’ve already got formula. If it’ll help Dean, then we’ll do whatever we can.”

“Great,” Lucifer smiled. “Because I’m about to tell you that he’ll need a bottle every 2 hours; even through the night.”

“Whatever,” Castiel reiterated his brother’s message with a determined nod. Usually, the dosage of the drug was upped over night so that the pup would sleep through and wake up early in the morning for another. Cas and Gabe were just going to have to take it in turns to get up during the night to feed him.

“Okay,” Lucifer nodded, pleased that had gone down well. The boys were used to getting up at all hours when they had both been young and had helped out more on their parent’s farm. “Other than that, and waiting on his blood results; he’s a healthy little thing who’s going to have a lot of energy if his attempts at moving are anything to be considered.”

Everyone chuckled.

“What about microchipping and stuff then?” Gabriel asked, swiftly moving the conversation along.

“Well,” Lucifer smiled and pulled an unopened case towards him. “I’ve got the stuff in here for microchipping. And I’ll get to that in a moment. In regards to shots, we’ve obviously got the standard ones but then we’ve got the tongue shot which makes the tongue heavy and causes him to produce much more saliva. I can see you’re already using the leg numbing shot. But the other one is the spray up his nose to heighten his sense of smell. I know Sammy’s got the whole set; are you wanting the same for Dean?”

“Yes,” Castiel decided. “Yes please. But we want to hold off on the tongue and nose one for now until he’s a little older.”

“That’s fine,” Lucifer nodded, writing this down. “I can book you a slot in a couple of weeks; how about just before he leaves the nest for the first time?”

“That would be perfect,” Castiel agreed, looking over at Gabriel who gave a quick nod.

“And how about surgeries guys?” Lucifer asked. “I mean, you know more than most what we offer.”

“Well,” Gabriel hummed. “We talked about this to quite some extent. We want his vocal cords cut.”

Lucifer nodded, writing it down as he went.

“And we want him castrated,” Castiel added. “We don’t plan on breeding him at all.”

“And castrating him will actually stop the production of testosterone too, meaning that the sooner it’s done the more he’ll keep his young puppy face. And obviously, it’ll lower aggression levels,” Lucifer pointed out.

They spoke a little while more, Lucifer talking them through a few other surgeries and modifications they could have done, but the brother’s decided against them. Some of them in their opinion were just barbaric, and not needed with the right amount of training.

Lucifer prepared the microchipping device and stepped once again into the nest. The needle was pressed easily and affectively into the bottom of Dean’s neck, embedding the microchip into the flesh just underneath the skin. With the pup asleep, the operation was over before it had really began without any fuss, and a quick scan over it with the microchip scanner proved it to be working.

“Is they’re anything else we can be doing?” Castiel asked as Lucifer stepped back out of the nest.

“I would suggest getting some other sources of heat,” Lucifer mentioned, but it didn’t sound to be too much of a thing to worry about. “A heat lamp. Some hot water bottles wrapped in towels. Those sorts of things. Especially as he’s the only one in there. It won’t be too bad when Sammy’s lying next to him; but maybe provide a hot water bottle when Sammy’s not there.”

“Got it,” Castiel nodded.

“Oh, and I’ll prescribe some supplement too,” Lucifer added, tone picking up as if the thought had suddenly hit him. “To feed him with the bottles. It’ll help make it easier for the pup to go to the toilet.”

“Thank you so much Lucifer,” Castiel smiled. “You’ve been a great help.”

“Oh, stop it,” The vet waved off. “You know you can call about anything and I’ll run over as soon as I can. And besides, he’s a cutie. I might make some excuses to pop round more often just to see him.”

“I’ll hold you to that!” Gabriel snorted.

-X-

It was dark, and silent.

He didn’t know what day it was or what time it was.

He couldn’t even try and keep track because he couldn’t even make out any light, and there was someone touching him in almost every waking moment. They kept him drugged too, and he never knew how long he was drugged for.

There had been many people’s hand touching him, and the examination he’d had done on him; he shivered at the thought. He hadn’t known what was going on and he hated not knowing what was coming next; the examination had been invasive and had paid him not a single amount of decency or privacy. He had hated it and did not want to go through all of that again.

The bottles; he knew they were bottles; were sweet and tasty. And while he was always starving, the bottles seemed to do their job and fill him up. Sure, they knocked him out again after drinking them, but he needed to fight his way out of this and the bottles would keep him going for now. He just had to hope they didn’t keep him blindfolded and deaf for very long.

And then there was the other dog.

Except he wasn’t a dog.

No, Jensen had thought it had been a literal dog to begin with when he'd been licked the first time, and a fresh state of panic had set in. But then the 'dog' had laid next to him and he had felt the smooth skin of the other 'dog' against his shoulders and face and knew that it was a 'dog' like him! It was someone who who in exactly the same boat that he was.

That thought comforted him and he enjoyed the touch of the other ‘dog’ against him. He couldn’t tell whether the other ‘dog’ had been blindfolded and made deaf as well, but he knew the other dog could move around.

It brought him comfort to know he wasn’t the only one, and he knew this was the only thing that kept him going, the only thing that kept him strong. He knew that when he got through this he wouldn’t be alone; they would get out of this together.


	3. Senses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys; life has been pretty hectic right now!!  
> Thank you mainly to SteelCode who has been more than patient with me!! <3 <3  
> And thank you all so much for the feedback!! I'm so glad you're all enjoying this!!!! Love you all!! <3 <3

** Chapter 3 **

The puppy had been home for almost 2 weeks now. Thanks to the new formula he had started to put on some weight, and even Lucifer had given him the all clear and told his owners that they could start reducing the bottles now. The blood results had come back and there was nothing wrong with them either, and everything was going swimmingly.

Dean still flinched at every little touch, but the poor thing just couldn’t tell when the next touch was coming. The good thing was that he had started to calm quicker, and sometimes even leant into their touch, especially during feeding.

Gabe had taken to calling Sammy, Mama-Sam. The big dog was always pining to get into the nest; and whenever he wasn’t allowed, he was usually led just outside of it. He was always bringing things into the nest for the puppy as well, such as his own toys and water bowl. At one point, he had even tried dragging his huge bed through the door, in obvious hopes that his owners would let him sleep in there. And Cas had even caught him taking stashed-away-treats into the nest for Dean; he’d received a death glare, and a serious frown from the older dog when he’d taken them away.

The two dogs had really created a good bond. The pup just seemed to know when Sammy was close by and he sought out the older dog’s warmth and the two would snuggle together for hours; Sammy often giving the pup a tongue bath. Sammy would pout and the pup would whine whenever Sammy was taken away from the nest.

The pup had certainly settled in well so far. But this was only the first hurdle.

“I’ve booked Luci in for a home visit, for next week,” Gabe explained, voice loud as he walked through the house. He’d just been outside with Sammy, and the dog was now dutifully at his heel, his tail high and wagging.

“Okay,” Cas called back, alerting his brother that he was in the living room.

Gabe made a quick pit stop at the nest and checked on the still sleeping pup; Dean wasn’t due another bottle for another hour yet and was still out of it. Gabe glanced down at Sammy when he whined, and Gabe relented, unlatching the door and letting the older dog shoot in.

He left them too it as he walked away and into the living room.

“It’s just for his shots,” Gabe went on, coming to sit on the couch next to his brother.

“I know,” Cas smiled, not looking up from his laptop.

“We should think about giving him back his senses,” Gabe continued, apparently on a roll with everything puppy at the moment.

Cas did look at him then, his smile growing wider.

“Hearing first,” He decided, without even talking it through. “Let him hear us first before he sees us. Get him used to the different sounds of the house for a few days before giving him back his sight.”

“I like your style,” Gabe laughed, his hands coming up to rest over the back of the couch. “Y’know, most people just do both sight and hearing in one go.”

“Oh gosh, no,” Cas shook his head, dead seriously. “Poor thing will be so overwhelmed. We’ll bring him round slowly.”

“Sammy was fine,” Gabe scoffed, but he didn’t deny that he liked the sound of slowly bringing the senses back around.

“Sammy was your decision,” Cas rolled his eyes, returning them to his computer screen.

Gabe said nothing for a minute, watching as Cas scrolled and clicked through pages and pages of endless information.

“What you doing?” He asked, scooting closer to get a better look.

“Look,” Castiel order lightly, inviting him even closer. Gabe looked over his younger brother’s shoulder and read the title of the web page.

_‘Getting to know your Chesapeake Bay Retriever.’_

“You’re researching,” Gabe smirked warmly, quickly scanning the first two sentences of the web page. They’d been told what ‘breed’ Dean had been placed under when they’d picked him up from the Human Pet Society Centre. Dean had undergone tests before they’d brought him, to determine what breed of dog he fell under. They had been given a small folder on the breed when they brought the pup home, but it hadn’t held a great load of information in it.

“Yep,” Cas nodded. “He should give Sam a run for his money in the exercise trials. And apparently, they’re a stubborn breed too.”

“Ha,” Gabe scoffed. “The pup can’t even see yet and he’s already stubborn. Only time he’s really pliant enough is feeding times.”

Cas smiled warmly at Gabe’s light dig; because every word was true. Dean was stubborn, for sure. He was always trying to wriggle and push himself up, trying to move. And he was vocal, loud and demanding of attention… he was trying his hardest to bark. And he didn’t give up; that much was true.

“They’re a curious breed,” Castiel went on, not responding to his brother’s comment. “Really smart, and always up for exploring and learning something new.”

“Good with other dogs, obviously,” Gabe mumbled, speaking from experience as he scanned the page his brother was scrolling down.

“People and kids too,” Cas added, enthusiastically. “They’ve got a great temperament. But they can also be fiercely protective if they ever feel like they or someone they love is being threatened.”

“Good,” Gabe laughed. “Because Sammy’s not! He’d let a burglar walk straight past, as long as they petted him and gave him a belly rub!”

Castiel laughed, because that was right. Sammy was a big softie and wouldn’t dare hurt a fly. Castiel suspected though, if it really came to it, he would protect what was his; without a doubt.

“Oh look,” Gabe pointed out, voice dripping with sarcastic excitement as he pointed out a line of text from the laptop. “Chessie’s tend to get into tonnes of mischief.”

Cas smirked, and ran his tongue across his bottom lip to wet it.

“Well, you better keep a close eye on him then!”

“Me?!” Gabe asked, sitting back and dramatically placing his hand over his heart. “No. When he’s naughty, he’s your dog!”

-X-

Another bottle was tipped into his mouth.

It was humiliating really; everything that this apparently involved, but the bottles more than anything. And this was because, he was drinking from a _bottle_. But it was the only source of food he was currently getting, and there was no way he could find his own food at the moment because he couldn’t even stand up, or see, or hear; and his hands were still in mittens, rendering them completely and utterly useless. So, he was subjected to taking the bottles and drinking them all down until they were empty, or until he fell asleep from the drug inside them, whichever came first.

He hated all this. He was sick and tired of the same thing. He desperately wanted to see the light again and hear a voice. The silence he had been forced into was roaring and deafening in its own sense, and Jensen felt like he couldn’t stand another minute of it. He was, honestly, surprised he hadn’t started hearing things; but he was still sure he was going crazy.

There was a hand in his hair suddenly, and he jumped because he had not been expecting it, but he relaxed just as quickly, reaching up into the hand as he suckled down more of the yummy milk that somehow always managed to fill him up. The touch was gentle and loving and Jensen had come to crave it whenever he got a bottle.

He’d also noticed that the bottles were become less frequent now. Or he thought they were. He wasn’t entirely sure, as he was always knocked out with each feeding. But he was sure he wasn’t getting as many as he did when he first got here. He didn’t mind too much, but he was starting to be awake for longer and staring to slowly build his strength back up.

He was getting quite good at moving about too, even if he did have to drag his apparent dead legs around with him. He often managed to wriggle so far before anyone seemed to notice, but it wouldn’t be long before hands were lifting him and guiding him elsewhere; he assumed back to where he had started.

And it was always so hot. He could feel that he was completely swaddled in blankets and there were warm patches that were slid against him at times, as well as a heat that was just in the air. He had hated it to start with, feeling suffocated, but now he was sort of used to it and liked to push the blanket that was on top of him away to let his skin breath. He would never get much of a respite from the heavy blanket though, because it would soon be pulled back over him.

There was also the other dog. Well he wasn’t actually a dog. But he was often close by and they often snuggled close together. It didn’t matter that he was hot; if he could tell this other dog was close by, he didn’t mind snuggling with him. He felt connected to him on a wavelength that he had never felt before; he felt like they knew each other and respected each other. It was just great to have another presence, that was like him, nearby to silently confine in.

The hand that was touching him travelled through his hair and down the nape of his neck, staring to rub soothing circles into his shoulder. It was nice, calming and also sent Jensen to sleep without the aid of the drug. He didn’t want it to stop.

But, all too soon the bottle was empty. His head got heavy as he felt the tale-tale signs of the drug starting to take effect. He laid his head on the blanket with a huge sigh and slipped his eyes shut behind the blindfold as the hand stroked down the length of his arm.

….

“Breakfast!”

Jensen startled awake at the shout. It took him a minute to get his bearings about him, but he soon realized that he could smell coffee and bacon. He was instantly craving some and shifted his head so that his nose was no longer hidden in the blanket. He sniffed the air again, desperately.

He had worked out early on that he was either in, or close to, the kitchen. He often woke to amazing smells surrounding him, making his mouth water for a taste. But he had yet to smell bacon – and he was salivating for some.

There was also a small chatter that he could hear between two people, but he couldn’t quite make out what was being said.

And then it hit him.

He could hear! He could hear everything! He wasn’t deaf anymore!

And now he had noticed, he couldn’t feel the ear-plugs in his ears anymore. Without them he could hear everything!

He could hear talking and the clanging of cutlery and dishes. There was a dog barking. Someone laughing. The sound of bacon sizzling. The coffee bot brewing. And if he listened closely enough, he could hear the birds singing.

It had to be morning.

Being able to suddenly hear was overwhelming. After so long in silence, this was all too much and he couldn’t help but shed a tear. He couldn’t tell whether it was a tear of sadness, happiness, fear or relief. He wasn’t even sure what he was feeling right now.

Then there was a whimper, loud and clear; heartbroken and desperate. And he realized, with a beat, that the sound had come from him!

There was a scurry and everything he could hear seemed to speed up. There was another bark, and Jensen was able to tell now that it wasn’t an actual dog’s bark; it sounded more human. It was followed by more laughing.

“I know Sammy!” A light voice cooed, excitedly, and Jensen was sure he had heard it before, but he couldn’t place it. “Dean’s awake!”

 _Dean?_ Who the fuck was Dean?

There was more barking still, and a deeper voice that Jensen was familiar with.

“Down, Sam! Down!”

The sound of something unlatching, and the squeak of a door reached him next; along with the patter of footsteps and the rustling of blankets. They, whoever _they_ were, were closer now; he couldn’t just hear them, he could sense them.

Jensen shook his head back and forth. He swore he could hear every little thing, like his hearing was amplified. He didn’t know whether this was because his sight was still being robbed from him, or if he had always been able to hear this well and had just never realized.

“Hiya Dean,” The deeper voice spoke again, but it was so soft and delicate as if scared it was going to break something if it spoke any harsher.

Jensen realized that the voice was talking to him, referring to him as ‘Dean’. There was a hand touching him next, and it made him jump where he hadn’t been expecting it. He whined low in his throat, unintentionally and pulled back. The guys hand was faster though and came around the back of his head and pulled him close.

Jensen could hear the guy shushing and cooing, soothing him with calm hands. And Jensen didn’t want to admit it, but it was nice.

“Poor puppy,” The voice whispered. “There’s so many new things to hear, hmm? It must be so scary. You’re going to be okay.”

Jensen tried speaking. He tried telling the guy to fuck off, that he wasn’t a puppy. He tried shouting, demanding they let him go. He tried promising that he wouldn’t tell anyone; if they let him go now he would never breath a word of this to another living soul for as long as he lived.

But all that came out of his mouth were a string of pitiful whines, whimpers, mumbles and moans.

“Oh, I know,” The voice continued talking. And Jensen tried to ignore the sweet tone; it was the same tone he himself had used with the family dog when he’d been just a boy. They were talking to him like he was a pet. “There’s lots of exciting things to hear; isn’t there pup.”

Dean whined again, unable to do anything else. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t speak, but it was driving him insane. He needed to communicate more beyond pathetic whimpers if he was going to get out of here.

He wasn’t even sure what these psychos wanted with him. Why had someone kidnapped him off the street and performed surgeries on him to give him pointy doggy ears and a tail? Since when was that okay? He wasn’t a dog, nor would he ever be one; so, whose sick idea was this and why did it involve him? He did not want to be a pet for these people, he did not want to play their sick game or live this way!

“Our puppy is growing up,” The lighter voice spoke cheerfully, sounding further away that the deeper voice. It was obvious that the guy speaking was excited. He spoke again. “Sammy wants in.”

“Okay, Dean,” The deeper voice shushed, hands seeming to be everywhere and all at once as they stroked him. The touch was rather calming, even if Jensen didn’t want to admit it. “There we go, puppy. Shh. Gonna let Sammy in now; you like Sammy.”

Jensen had no idea who Sammy was.

A cold, human nose pressed up against his cheek, making him jump. Even though the nose was human, it started sniffing him over and over again like a dog and Jensen realized that this was the other guy who was in the same predicament that he was. At least his ‘friend’ had a name now; _Sammy_.

Jensen grumbled and whined, but let the sniffing continue. And then the ‘dog’s’ tongue came into play and Jensen was grossed out. He tried to protest and pushed Sammy away with his mittened hands.

Sammy however, was not deterred. He moved about, yipping as if it was a game. There was laughter somewhere, and Jensen thought briefly about the men who had done this to them. Where were they now? What was the betting that they were taking pictures and videos and selling them on the black market. Jensen shuddered at the thought.

Sammy came to rest behind him, curling up around him like he usually did. The other guy’s head rested over his shoulder, and Jensen could not only feel his breath, he could hear it now. Jensen let the dog… human… (he wasn’t sure how to refer to ‘Sammy’) lie close, and if anyone caught him snuggling back into the warmth, he would deny it until his last breath.

-X-

The puppy was getting stronger and stronger, but he was still as blind as a new born.

Cas and Gabriel had been lessoning the drugs in his bottle slowly. This meant that Dean was awake more often than he was asleep, and he was starting to move around a little more confidently. His legs were still weak, but the puppy was starting to get his knees underneath him; Castiel made a note that they were going to need to invest in some puppy knee pads very soon.

Dean also responded very well to the sound of their voices now, and always perked up when he heard someone addressing him. There were still times when the poor thing didn’t know what was going on and would cower away. But he was getting there, and after today’s visit from Lucifer he would finally be able to see.

The vet was almost giddy to be back, and he beamed when he noticed that the puppy was awake. It was the first time he had met Dean when he wasn’t sleeping.

“Are you ready for this? Lucifer asked Castiel and Gabriel, noticing how the puppy shook his head from side to side, trying to locate the speaker.

The two owners nodded, Gabriel patting Sammy’s head while the older dog munched on his treat from Lucifer.

“And, just to reiterate; the tongue shot, nose spray and the eye drops?” Lucifer asked, to double check the he got everything right, that the owners had not changed their mind about anything.

“Yeah,” Gabriel explained. “Although, a booster for his vocal cords would be great. I think he’s getting too much control of them… we don’t want our puppy learning any human words.”

“I can do that,” Lucifer nodded, placing his briefcase onto the table and opening it with two clicks. “Now, I am going to administer a mild calming drug so the poor thing doesn’t lash out too much and hurt himself or anyone else. But, if I could still have a hand; puppies don’t take to well to these procedures.”

Jensen listened in fear and dread. Whoever this Lucifer was he sounded like a nasty piece of work, and Jensen found his heart beating at the words that left the man’s mouth.

Eye drops? What for? And what the hell would the tongue shot, and the nose spray do to his body? And the fact that Gabriel (he’d been listening out for his kidnapper’s names and any information he could get a hold of to tell the police) wanted to make his vocal cords even more useless was unbelievable; there was no way that he was anywhere close to speaking, and trust him, he tried often!

He was so caught up in his own despair that he didn’t take any notice of the rest of the conversation. He was pulled out of his own mind with the sound of something unlatching and the squeak of a door he now recognised very well. Someone was in his space and they were fast approaching him.

“Good boy Dean.”

It was Castiel. He was kind, Jensen supposed, despite the whole kidnapping/treating-him-like-a-puppy thing. He always spoke softly to him and never said or did anything that hurt him. He comforted him and he was usually the one that fed him too.

Jensen felt two body’s crouches close to him, and when a hand ran their fingers through his hair, he knew that was Castiel. He hated to admit it, but he leant into the touch of his kidnapper and away from the other body, who was very obviously the evil Lucifer.

“There we go,” Castiel continued, scooping Jensen’s upper body into his lap and pulling his arms against his chest. “The good vet is only here to make you all better. Good boy.”

Vet?! Jensen panicked. That was what he was afraid of.

Lucifer smiled warmly at the interactions. The way that Castiel spoke to the boy and cooed to him was absolutely adorable.

“Good boy,” Lucifer shushed, his own hands reaching out to gently stroke the puppy. The poor thing flinched away and cowered into Cas even further, but that was okay; it was scary meeting the vet for the first time, and Dean couldn’t even see him yet.

Lucifer and Castiel said nothing to each other, but shared looks and nods, to signal that they were ready. Lucifer had a needle in his hands and effortlessly pressed it into Dean’s bicep. The puppy cried from the sharp, surprising prick and turned closer into Castiel.

“Oh, good boy,” Castiel shushed, hands soft and gentle as the scooped the boy nearer.

Almost immediately, Jensen could feel the affect of the drugs. It wasn’t the usual drug that made him drowsy. Instead he could feel himself relaxing slightly, his muscles not as tense as they were. But this didn’t make him feel any better about the situation and he let them know about it with his pitiful whining and grumbling.

With a small nod, Lucifer grabbed a pen torch and the eye drops out of his pocket. Castiel reached towards the puppy’s head and lifted the blindfold away. The abrupt burst of light was completely sudden and unexpected; it made Jensen’s eyes burn from lack of light, even though the kitchen had been kept dark on purpose. Dean hissed his displeasure, keeping his eyes clutched tightly shut.

“Okay, okay,” Lucifer soothed, easily prying open one of the puppy’s eyelids. He shone the torch into the frantic eye, pleased when the eyes instinctively watered and flickered; the iris shrunk and danced away from the bright lightly, coming to focus on Lucifer smiling down at him. Quickly, without letting go of the fluttering eyelid which was desperate to close again, Lucifer picked up the eyedrops.

Jensen was forced to watch the small bottle come towards his eye. He wriggled as much as he could, but with the drugs and the way that Castiel was holding him, he couldn’t get away. He cried out when not one, but two drops were squeezed into his eye. Thankfully, the blonde man let go of his eyelid and Jensen squeezed his eyes shut even tighter.

Praises were surrounding him from every direction. Castiel wouldn’t stop muttering, and the vet was reassuring him with his constant touches.

Jensen wanted nothing more than to lift his hands and rub his eye that was now stinging. But with Castiel holding him so tightly, he couldn’t even lift his arms. He had no idea what the drops were going to do, and he didn’t want to find out.

“Ready for the other one?” Lucifer asked carefully. Castiel nodded determinedly. They needed to get this over with quickly, before the puppy got too distressed.

Jensen freaked and fought with all his might; but thanks to the drug he barely moved. The process was repeated with the light and the eye drops in his other eye, and as soon as both eyes were done, Castiel let go of him and Jensen pushed away. He rolled onto his stomach and moved heavy arms to press mittened hands to his eyes.

He wanted to demand to know what they had done, but when he raised his head and opened his eyes, he realized just what the eye drops did. He could see, but now he couldn’t see properly. Everything was fuzzy, almost as if he was looking at it all from underneath cloudy water. He could make out shapes and colours, and after blinking a few times he realized he could make out light, but not follow it properly, nor focus on it fully.

Something shiny flashed in front of him for a minute, and Jensen twisted his head to follow the fast-moving object, but not his eyes. It wasn’t until Lucifer pulled back and declared that the eye drops had worked, that he realized this had been intentional.

“There we go,” Castiel cooed. “My good boy. Good boy, Dean.”

“They’ll wear off in the next 5 days or so,” Lucifer explained, and Dean whined, curling away from the voice. He did not like this ‘vet’ and didn’t want him to touch him anymore. He wanted Sammy; at least the other dog seemed to understand him, even though they couldn’t speak to one another.

They decided to leave him for a few moments, so that he could calm himself down. Even with the drug, the puppy could still work himself up, and that really wouldn’t be good for any of them.

Gabriel stood just outside the nest, looking in. He said nothing as he watched on, not wanting to disturb and put Lucifer off. Sammy on the other hand was very vocal. He was stood to attention beside Gabe, barking and yipping, whining and grumbling, scratching and clawing, just wanting into the nest. Currently, neither Lucifer or Castiel were paying the older dog any attention. When Gabriel looked down at him, Sammy’s head shot up and he let out the saddest whine Gabe had ever heard.

“Oh buddy,” Gabriel crouched to the dog’s height. “Dean’s going to be just fine; don’t you worry. Lucifer’s not going to hurt him; this is all stuff that’s going to help him grow up into a big strong puppy!”

Sammy whined again, sounding so lost as he tentatively, nervously licked Gabriel’s petting hand. The puppy dog eyes melted Gabe’s heart and Gabriel pulled the dog into his chest for a hug.

“You can see him soon, Sammy. Your baby’s going to be just fine, Mama.”

The next thing Jensen knew, he was being gently turned around until he was laying on his back. The drugs seemed to have taken more of an affect now and all his limbs felt heavy, like he didn’t even want to attempt moving them.

“As you know Castiel,” Lucifer spoke gently, quietly, as if he didn’t want Jensen to hear him. “This is the hardest shot to administer. We need to be careful of teeth.”

 _What_? Jensen didn’t have time to dwell on that before fingers were pressing against his cheeks and his jaw, forcing his mouth easily open while he was under the influence of the drug.

He tried to close his mouth, but something cool and sharp pressed inside his mouth, coming to rest on his tongue. Castiel’s hands were all over him, his voce surrounding him as he promised it would be over soon. Lucifer pressed down on the needle and it pierced Jensen’s tongue, making it heavy and numb.

The vet’s needle and hands left him quickly, and Jensen snapped his jaw shut. His tongue felt weird and suddenly too big for his mouth. He had to let his mouth fall open, so that his tongue had enough room to feel comfortable, and so he could feel like he could breathe properly again.

“His tongue will probably swell to begin with, so you’ll see that he’ll be unable to keep it in his mouth for a few days. There will no doubt be lots of slobber.”

“Oh great,” Gabriel scoffed quietly from behind them, although there wasn’t really any malice behind it.

“Can’t be any worse than Sammy’s drooling when he went through it,” Castiel pointed out to his brother, causing Gabriel to shudder as he remembered. Gabriel looked down at Sammy, who was looking up at him curiously and Gabe laughed as he ruffled the older dog’s hair.

Without saying a word, Lucifer picked up another syringe. He looked at Castiel, who nodded, understanding that this was the shot for the boy's vocal cords. It was easy to slide the needle into the skin on his neck. Jensen squealed at the prick, and felt his vocal cords go cold, like they were icing over.

“Okay, one last thing;” Lucifer reassured the owners, once that was done. Out of the briefcase he pulled out a small bottle, with a long nozzle.

Jensen was still led on his back, not wanting to move and unable to move much anyway with the influence of the drug.

“Okay buddy,” Lucifer cooed, a hand coming to rest on Jensen’s chest as he shuffled closer to the pup. “This one really isn’t going to hurt; but it’ll feel weird.”

Jensen didn’t even have time to try and focus on Lucifer. The nozzle was pushed up his left nostril and something was sprayed up his nose, making him sneeze as the nozzle was pulled away. The process was repeated in his right nostril and that was that.

While Jensen sneezed, almost continuously, Lucifer packed away his stuff and stood up.

“It’ll take an hour or so for the nose spray to kick in, but you’ll soon find that his sense of smell has picked up.”

“Thank you so much Lucifer!” Castiel exclaimed, running his hand over the puppy’s back before standing as well.

“You know it’s not a problem Castiel,” Lucifer assured him. “And Dean’s not been any trouble at all. If he were old enough, I’d offer him a treat.”

Lucifer crouched again to ruffle Jensen’s hair. With Castiel’s help they turned the pup around so he was back, comfortably on his tummy and cover him back up in the warmth.

When they went to exit the nest, they were greeted by a Sammy in their way, eager to get inside. He grumbled at the sight of Lucifer, but the vet just chuckled and moved to the side, allowing the older dog to rush inside.

The 3 men watched the older dog sniff the puppy all over and nudge him slightly to gain a reaction out of him. When Dean whined, low in his throat, and moved heavy arms to try and push himself up, Sammy seemed to deem him okay and quickly curled up beside him happily. The puppy seemed to settle almost immediately, his unfocused eyes trying to make out Sammy’s facial features, looking at the older dog in upmost awe.

“Thanks mate,” Gabriel beamed when the vet exited the nest, followed by Cas. “Do you want a drink before you head off?”

“No thanks,” Lucifer declined. “I’ve got my next home visit in half hour so I should really get going.”

They made small talk for a minute, Lucifer suggesting that they start taking away the walls of the nest over the next few days and letting Dean explore more areas if he wanted to, and at his own pace. It was also time to introduce solid foods and water bowls, and maybe even a leash. It would also be a good idea to start setting the rules, and introducing Dean to new sights, smells and noises as well as integrating him in places that would be visiting often (like the brothers' pet-friendly café) and their parent’s farm. It would also give Dean the opportunity to meet other pets like him, and more people too. Giving Dean a sense of routine too would let the puppy know what he could expect in day-to-day life.

“Oh, one more thing before I go,” Lucifer remembered, reaching into his bag and pulling out a diary. “We should schedule him in for his surgeries.”

“When’s the soonest we can have them done?” Gabriel asked.

“Well, you have them done as soon as possible really,” Lucifer shrugged. “But I do suggest waiting until the pup is 8 weeks old; that way, it gives the puppy time to get used to their home and the place they’ll be doing most of their recovery.”

“In about 4 weeks-time then please,” Castiel decided, after a quick glance with Gabriel.

 Lucifer nodded, decided on an exact date with the brother’s and pencilled them in.

“I’ll make sure to bring round the full information packs for the surgeries you want over the next few days. It’ll include all the stuff you’ll need to do to prepare Dean, as well as what’ll happen during and after the surgeries.”

After bidding the vet goodbye, the Novak brother’s both checked up on their two pets.

Both Sammy and Dean were fast asleep, basking in each other’s warmth and embrace. They looked so peaceful, with their foreheads touching.

“Our Dean’s growing up,” Castiel smiled. Gabriel scoffed warmly and crossed his arms.

“That he is,” The older brother agreed. “But Dean will be all grown up, and Sammy will still be mothering him then.”

The statement, while only a light-hearted joke, was probably true and it made both brother’s laugh at the thought.


	4. The Waitering Dog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this one lovelies!! I've had most of it written for a while and then I stumbled across a bad case of writers block (hense the new story, Picture This..., to try and remedy it, but then everything in real life went pear shaped for a while, and well... time just got away from me. I apologise. I hope this 10K chapter makes it up to you all!! You're all amazing!!!!

** Chapter 4 **

The knee pads felt heavy, and he didn’t like them. He tried shaking them off, tried catching them on something but the nest was still full of blankets and gave him barely any purchase; the knee pads were staying firmly in place.

But, Jensen supposed, they were treating him like a puppy; and puppies walked around on all fours. There was no mistaking that this is what they wanted Jensen to do, and he guessed he was just grateful that they had given him protection for his knees.

His hands had been taken out of the mittens for a little while by Gabriel a day or so ago, so he could stretch his fingers. He had enjoyed having his hands back and he never wanted them to go back into the mittens again. But eventually Castiel had handed over a clean pair of mittens and Gabe had locked away his hands once again.

Jensen’s sight was clearing up too, from whatever the eyedrops had done to him. The first day or so had been awful, but objects were starting to become clearer now. He noticed that the walls that had been surrounding him were gone now, leaving just his nest of blankets in place.

The bottles too were not making him sleep now; or at least, not always. There was always one around lunch time that knocked him out for a little while, and then one given to him before bed time that made him sleep till morning. Other than that, they seemed to be clear of any drugs, which meant his strength was building and building. He was finally able to get his legs underneath him and with some encouraging from Sammy (more like, persisting) he ventured away from the blanket nest for the first time since he had arrived.

Moving about, Jensen realised that he was clumsy and uncoordinated. The knee pads and mittens, mixed with the fact that he had barely moved for the last however long he’d been here meant that he, without a doubt, looked like a new-born pup learning to walk properly for the first time. His limbs felt heavy and he was shocked to learn that he didn’t have great control of them, causing him to slip over and knock into things easily.

Sammy didn’t seem to mind though, as he trotted around, leading the way but always staying close. Whenever Jensen fell, Sammy would rush to his side, kitten-licking his face and nudging his side until Jensen got back up to his hands and knees (it never occurred to him to even try and stand on his own two feet) and carried on. Sammy led him around the ground floor of the house, showing him the kitchen and the living room, and getting pats from both owners before he tried to lead Jensen through the doggy door and out into the back garden.

Jensen watched Sammy slink through the dog-flap easily, and while the thought of using it was a degrading one he decided to suck it up because beyond that dog-flap was the outside and his possible means of escape. He took a step towards the door but was stopped when a hand grabbed a hold of the back of his collar, making the nubuck dig in and almost choke him.

He panicked and looked up to see Gabe glancing down at him kindly. The man crouched down when Jensen couldn’t help but whine.

“I know Dean,” Gabe shushed, letting go of the collar and brushing his hands over Jensen’s back. “But you can’t go outside yet; you’re still too little, pup.”

Sammy’s head reappeared through the dog-flap, hair flapping around his smiley face and he barked expectedly.

“No, Sammy,” Gabe reiterated to the older dog. “Dean is too little to go outside just yet.”

The older dog frowned, and Jensen pined again; hoping to warm the man’s heart enough so he let him go out anyway. If he went outside he would be able to have a bit of a feel of the surrounding area and maybe even a clue as to what state he was in; it didn’t matter that he still couldn’t see properly.

“Sorry Dean-o,” Gabe muttered apologetically, using the nickname he’d taken to calling him lately as he ruffled the pup’s hair. “If you need a wee, there’s a puppy pad over there.”

Jensen’s gaze followed where the man had pointed on instinct. In the corner of the room was a square of white; Jensen couldn’t make it out properly with his limited eyesight, but there was no doubt what it was for. He scrunched his face up and turned away, choosing to walk away from the back door and try again later when Gabe was busy.

As it was, he didn’t get a chance to try and get outside again; it was like Castiel and Gabriel were always watching him. He couldn’t get into a bathroom to use a toilet either (and boy had he tried; but there were some doors that had locks on them up high; and with his mittens on he had absolutely no hope in opening them); so, in the end he had to resign himself to using a puppy pad. It was humiliating, but he wasn’t about to piss himself just anywhere; he wasn’t an animal. And as much as he hated the idea of peeing on a puppy pad, he hated the thought of peeing outside even more.

It was a few days after that, when his eyesight cleared up completely and he was introduced to solid foods. Well, if you could call the milky oatmeal in the ceramic dog bowl solid food.

Gabriel had excused himself to the kitchen, saying something about getting dinner ready. Sam perked up at that, untangling himself from Jensen and stepping out of the basket to follow the man. Jensen grumbled at being disturbed, but he was quick to shake out his limbs and follow not paying any mind to the fact that he’d just been lazing about in a dog basket.

He was forced to stop when a set of long legs stepped in front of him. He had been almost running to catch up with the older dog, and so almost fell into the legs when he had to stop so quickly. It was Castiel.

“You’re going to stay in here with Daddy, Dean,” Cas explained, using the sickly sweet tone he always used when addressing either Jensen or Sammy. There was however, an undertone of seriousness to his voice this time. “You’ll just get under Papa’s feet.”

Jensen grumbled, unable to do much else in ways of vocalisation. He tried to duck around Castiel’s legs and even between them, but Cas was just too quick for him. He grabbed hold of Jensen’s collar and gently lead him back towards the middle of the room. Once there he proceeded to guide Jensen into a kneeling position, with his mittened hands out in front of his knees. He kept explaining that this was the sit position, but Jensen was having none of it; he was not about to be trained how to sit like a dog!

So, when Cas ordered him to sit (after having him practice for nearly 20 minutes with his guided hand), Jensen just took one look at him and darted for the door.

Gabriel laughed when Cas followed Jensen into the kitchen and explained what had happened. Jensen didn’t pay too much attention though, choosing to focus on Sammy. The other dog was sat (well knelt, and in the same position that Castiel had just been showing Jensen) just behind Gabe who was stood at the stove. Sammy nuzzled back at Jensen when he approached him, but quickly returned his attention to whatever was cooking.

“Okay,” Gabe announced as he placed his hands inside two bowls on the side that Jensen was only just noticing. “I think it’s cool enough.”

Gabe took one bowl; the one with blue spots and the neatly inscribed ‘Sam’, and Cas took the bowl with green spots and the name ‘Dean’ inscribed on it. They took them over to the corner where a doggy mat exclaiming _‘Dinner time’_ was and placed them both down. Sammy was under the two men’s feet the whole time, barking and yapping excitedly, tail wagging with enthusiasm.

“Sit, Sammy!” Gabe ordered, and Jensen watched as the older dog went down to his knees instantly. His tongue was lulling out (which brought Jensen’s attention to his own heavy tongue in his mouth) and he desperately raised one of his hands and placed it in Gabe’s outstretched hand. Gabe ruffled his hair with a chuckle. “Go on, boy!”

Sammy didn’t need telling twice. He darted forward and started gulping up whatever was in his bowl.

Cas had put down the green-spotted bowl, that was no doubt his. Both men were calling him forwards, but he refused to budge from where he was stood on all fours. He was hungry, and he desperately wanted real food; it smelt heavenly and Jensen wanted nothing more than to tuck in (it certainly didn’t smell like normal dog food). But he outright refused to eat from a dog’s bowl. No way!

“Let’s give him a moment,” Gabriel suggested after a moment. “Maybe some privacy will help.”

Jensen scoffed when the two men moved away from the dog bowls and back over to the stove. As if the glances they kept throwing his way were giving him privacy!

Sammy seemed to notice the bowl next to his, and he slowly sniffed at it gently. He turned his head towards Jensen and barked. Jensen grimaced when he took in the mess of rice and vegetable chunks that were smashed around the older dog’s face; he supposed eating out of a dog bowl, like a dog was messy business.

When it became apparent that Jensen wasn’t going to even approach the bowls, Sammy jumped away from his meal and started herding the puppy forward. Jensen wailed, trying to voice his displeasure, but Sammy just yapped back at him with a wag of his tail thinking it all a game.

Jensen could hear the quiet chuckles from behind them, but when he looked over the two men turned away making themselves look busy preparing their own meal.

Sammy barked at him once to get his attention and then dipped his head into his bowl to lap up a chunk of meat. He chewed it slowly while keeping eye contact with him, and Jensen realised that Sammy was showing him what to do! He blushed furiously.

Inside Sammy’s bowl was a mixture of carrots and peas, rice and chunks of meat. The sight of the food made his tummy rumble and his blush deepened. Glancing into his own bowl (oh god! He was already referring to it as _his_ bowl!) he was expecting to see the same. Instead there was a milky, lumpy substance that didn’t look appetising at all. Jensen grimaced again; oatmeal! No thanks; he hated the stuff!

He moaned in disgust and turned away from the bowls, wanting to demand to have something better than oatmeal. Without the full use of his vocal cords though, that was going to be next to impossible and he instead settled for grumbling as he made his way towards the nest of blankets that were still in the corner of the kitchen. As he settled down into them he decided that he would just continue to rely on the bottles; even though the thought of doing so was just as humiliating, he’d rather drink from a bottle than eat from a dogs bowl.

-X-

Gabe was in the bathroom with Sammy giving him a bath. By the sound of it, the older pup was getting water everywhere, which wasn’t unusual. Cas chuckled at the sound of Gabe crying out and the splash of water before he resettled his attention on the puppy at his feet. Dean was eagerly and hungrily sucking down his bedtime bottle.

The poor thing was probably so hungry. They had slowly been lessoning the number of bottles they gave him throughout the day in hopes that Dean would start eating from his bowl to counteract his hunger; so far though they hadn’t had any luck. When they had consulted Lucifer about it, even the vet had been concerned. He told them to leave it another day or so, and if Dean hadn’t even tried to eat from the bowl in that time then they should cut the bottles out completely; Dean would realise soon enough that he would only get food from the bowl.

They were lessoning the drugs in the bottle as well. The lunchtime bottle no longer had drugs in it, but Castiel and Gabriel were pleased to find out that Dean was still having at least an hour nap around that time. The only bottle that still had drugs in them was the bed time one, and even then, there wasn’t a whole lot in them.

“Dean’s going to have a bath after Sammy,” Cas mumbled, conversationally to the pup as he stroked his hands though the pup’s hair. Dean seemed to jolt at this, but he kept suckling on the bottle and relaxed again just as quickly.

It was the first time that they had let Dean upstairs. It was going to be the pup’s first real bath. Before then, the pup had been subjected to many sponge-baths, but now that Dean was stronger on his feet, it was time to bath him properly. And it was always a good idea to introduce him to the bath, and water early on, so that he didn’t come to fear it.

The idea behind giving Dean his bottle _before_ his bath was so that he would be more pliant during the first one. It would give Dean the feel of what a bath would be like, and he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight in the slippery water; after all they would have to take off his knee-pads, the mittens and the collar so they didn’t get wet.

It was just as Dean was finishing the last dregs of the warm milk that the bathroom door slammed open and Sammy came bouncing in, wide awake despite the late hour. He was dripping wet, with a huge smile on his face. Gabriel came chasing after him, a towel grasped in one hand as he called the larger dog back.

Cas could see what was about to happen; Sammy was getting ready to shake!

“Not in the bedroom!” Castiel cried in alarm as Sammy hunkered down and turned his head to start.

“Sam!” Gabe shouted harshly, making the older pup freeze from the harsh tone. He turned back to look at his owner with apprehension. “If you choose to shake right now, you can sleep in your crate tonight!”

The tone Gabriel used was enough to stop Sammy in his tracks, the threat was just an added bonus, to confirm the dog’s obedience.

“It’s all yours,” Gabe mumbled to Cas as he approached the older dog and started towelling him dry, starting with Sammy’s long, dripping wet hair.

Cas gently led a sleepy Dean into the bathroom. Like expected, Dean was docile and Cas was able to easily take off the knee pads, mittens and the collar; Dean didn’t seem to notice the difference. Cas helped the pup climb into the tub and settled him on his hands and feet, inside and started running the water.

Cas kept cooing and mumbling sweet nothings to the pup who was quickly losing his battle with sleep. Dean was clearly happy and sated, letting out quiet little, pleased sighs. It was as Cas was lathering up the doggy shampoo in Dean’s hair that Gabriel came back in.

“Okay, Sammy’s now dry,” He declared, leaning against the sink and watching Cas massaging the pup’s hair.

“I can’t believe you almost let him shake all over my room!” Cas scolded quietly, not wanting to upset the bubble that Dean appeared to be in.

“Not my fault; the bathroom door wasn’t shut properly!” Gabe defended.

Cas said nothing for a minute, choosing to forgive his brother for something that actually wasn’t really his fault.

“Do you reckon the pup’s will sleep together?” Cas asked as he began rinsing the shampoo away, watching carefully as Dean’s eyes began to stay closed more than they were open.

“Well, they have every night since Dean came home,” Gabe pondered.

It was the first night that they were allowing Dean to sleep upstairs. Every night so far, he had slept in the nest with Sammy; but they were getting ready to dispose of the nest now that Dean was that little bit older.

Before they had brought Dean home, Sammy had slept upstairs all night. He usually slept with Gabriel, at the foot of his bed but he would sometimes sleep with Castiel. It was going to be interesting to see what Sammy did when the two owners settled Dean at the foot of Cas’ bed for the night.

Dean was more asleep than awake by the time Cas pulled the plug. Gabe helped him lift the poor thing out of the tub and towel him dry quickly. The collar was quickly reattached along with the mittens and the kneepads and together the two brothers carried the sleepy pup back into the bedroom where they settled him on the bed.

Sammy, who had been led on the floor beside the bed, raised his head when Cas and Gabe came back into the room carrying Dean. He watched carefully as they lowered Dean to the bed and he whined pleadingly, waiting for the signal to jump up and lay with the puppy. When Cas gave the okay, Sam hopped onto the bed and curled up against Dean. The skin-on-skin contact with the older dog seemed to relax Dean even further, and Sammy too seemed to slip easily into sleep only moments later.

-X-

Jensen watched Sammy gobble up his own oatmeal for breakfast the next morning.

He himself was hungry, and while his own green-spotted bowl was full with the usual oatmeal, he was waiting for his morning bottle. He was still refusing to eat out of the bowl, on the pretence that it was a _dog’s_ bowl. Sammy, on the other-hand, ate from the bowl 3 times a day, sometimes four if he was given some fruit as a treat; but Jensen was not having any of it!

Castiel and Gabriel were sat at the table, chatting between themselves as they munched their way through breakfast. They were saying something about travelling and a car; but Jensen couldn’t follow their conversation, the hunger in his tummy too prominent to really concentrate on anything.

He had usually had his morning bottle by now. Looking over at the two men sat chatting, he found himself wondering why they hadn’t given it to him yet.

For some reason, his mind drifted back to the other day when he watched Sammy brushing up against Gabriel’s leg and nuzzling his thigh, whining in want until Gabriel relented and fed him extra fruit pieces straight from his hand. Maybe though, if he did the same thing, he might get his morning bottle?

Brushing up against Castiel came more naturally to him than he liked to admit; and he easily leant into the touch when Castiel snaked his hand down from the table to give him a nice ear rub. The man above him didn’t halt his conversation, which had now moved onto something about a café and staffing.

It was only when Jensen let out along, loud, pleading whine that Castiel gave him his full attention.

“Are you hungry pup?” Cas asked, glancing down at him.

Jensen grumbled, and nuzzled Cas’ thigh again. The man chuckled and grabbed something from the table.

Jensen perked up when he noticed the movement. Was Castiel reaching for his bottle? That had to be his bottle! (He tried to ignore the flicker of want and desire and the feeling of _yes, finally_ that rushed through him at the slight hand movement).

“Here,” Cas shushed, his hands gentle.

Jensen let his eyes flicker closed and let his mouth fall open slightly. His tongue, which had felt heavy and too big for his mouth since he had been given the ‘shot’ just a week ago, lulled out slightly. He tried to ignore it along with his tail which was swishing lazily, but happily from side to side.

He was expecting a bottle nipple. So, when he felt a thin plastic tube pressed against the side of his mouth, he jolted in shock. His mouth closed instinctively around the unwanted intrusion, and something lukewarm and liquidly was pushed into his mouth. He gulped it down, simply on impulse and then quickly pushed away from Castiel’s side.

He was hunched over, his forehead against the cool lino of the kitchen floor. He was breathing heavily from the shock of the oatmeal that had been pushed into his mouth. And actually, the more he thought about it, he realised that it hadn’t tasted half as bad as he had expected it too. The small amount was enough to alight the hunger growing in him even more.

He rose his head slowly and looked up at the table to see the two men there just watching him.

“Did you like that, puppy?” Gabe cooed, his hand coming down to smooth over his shoulder.

Jensen whined and decided that he was just going to suck it up. He had to. If he was ever going to get out of here he was going to need strength; and if that meant eating oatmeal from a dog’s bowl, then so be it!

He ducked his head slightly and slinked off towards Sammy and the two bowls. Sammy glanced up at the movement beside him, gave a gruff, oatmeal-full bark before returning to his own breakfast, practically slurping it down greedily and messily. Jensen grimaced at the sight, and almost backed out again. But when his tummy gave another painful rumble, he knew he had no choice.

Slowly he lowered his head into the bowl and gave the oatmeal a tentative lick. The flavours of honey and cinnamon exploded onto his tongue and he moaned in appreciation, using his tongue to scoop more and more into his mouth and sooth his growling hunger pangs.

Over at the table, Gabriel and Castiel smirked at each other in accomplishment.

-X-

The garden was a decent size.

There was a patio, a barbeque, a large picnic bench and a huge house-shaped dog kennel. There was enough room for a pool and for something like a swing set, if the brother’s wished, but the space was left clear so that their pups had enough room to run around and exercise.

Looking down at him, Gabriel couldn’t quite make out whether Dean was scared or excited to finally be outside.

Castiel had been against letting the puppy out, frightened that he was going to run at the first chance he got. But, Gabriel who had (surprisingly) been the voice of reason reassured and reminded his brother that the garden was completely enclosed, the gate triple locked and that the pup wouldn’t be outside for too long, or without human supervision. Plus, Dean was soaking through what felt like a million puppy pads with how much milk and water he was drinking. Dean was more than ready to be introduced to the garden, and to just where puppies were supposed to go to the toilet.

Gabriel stood on the patio while Cas was inside, ridding the house of all the puppy pads. Gabe was going to have a little chat with Dean while they were out here, and it wouldn’t do him any good to think that he could get away without using the outdoor space to relieve himself. He had gotten too used to using the puppy pads, and it was time to move on from them.

Dean was almost cowering behind Gabriel as he looked out at the open space. It was strange, because it had been so obvious that he was eager to get out of the house because of the many times he’d been caught trying to sneak out of the dog flap. But now they were here and it was like Dean didn’t want to take a single step onto the grass. Gabe could understand that it must be so overwhelming.

Sammy was barking and yapping, bouncing around the garden excitedly. He kept running over to the patio and trying to nudge Dean to come and play with him, but the poor puppy wasn’t having any of it.

“Alright Sam,” Gabriel called a few minutes later when it became clear that Dean was not budging right now. “That’s enough.”

The older dog looked up at his owner to gage how serious the man was. He quickly decided that he was in fact being very serious and he slinked away, slowly this time with a heart-breaking pout on his face.

Both Gabe and Dean watched Sammy for a moment, and when the older dog lifted his leg against a tree in the corner of the garden, Dean squawked.

Gabriel had no illusions that Dean, or rather Jensen as he wasn’t yet in the right mindset, knew what he was expected to do in this garden without needing to be told. Sammy giving an example of what to do was probably not the way Jensen wanted to admit it to himself.

“Oh Dean,” Gabriel cooed, crouching down to the puppy’s height. He reached out kind hands and started patting the dog’s head. “You better get used to the idea of going potty outside, pup. It’s the only place that you’ll be permitted to go from now on.”

Dean’s eyes were wide and fearful, and Gabe hadn’t even muttered the threat of punishment yet.

“If Papa or Daddy catches you going potty anywhere in the house from now on you will spend time, outside leashed to the kennel.”

Dean’s eyes glanced over at the large wooden dog’s kennel, completely and utterly horrified. Gabe followed his gaze and huffed with a small smirk.

“That’s Sammy’s kennel pup,” Gabe informed him. “You’ll have to share it with him for a little while until we can get you your own. We didn’t get one before you arrived as we didn’t know how big our new puppy was going to be.”

Dean looked like he didn’t care, and like he would rather burn the thing that listen to the pointless information that Gabe was now feeding him. Gabe however was chuckling to himself, remembering when they had been preparing for Sammy to come home for the first time. They had brought the kennel for an average sized pup, not anticipating that they would choose a pup that was so large right from the start. They had to get a special kennel made; and it was a mistake they weren’t going to make again, which is why Dean didn’t have his own yet.

Gabe stood again, saying nothing more, hoping that the pup would get the idea and slink off to do his business without needing any encouragement. That didn’t seem to be what was happening though, and it anything the poor thing was slowly backing up towards the back door.

“I know that this is a scary, new experience for you Dean,” Gabe mused. His voice was a little harder than before, to show that he meant business. He kept his tone slightly soothing though, so the poor thing didn’t see him as a threat. “But you need to at least try and go whenever you’re let out. We’re going to be inside soon, for a very long while; Daddy and Papa won’t be happy if you pee in their shop.”

The pup seemed to balk at the mention of a shop, the pitiful whine he let escape him only matching the distress painted on his face.

“Come on,” Gabe shushed, running fingers through his hair. “It’s going to be just fine.”

In the end, Gabe sat himself down on the patio steps and watched Sammy frolic around the garden. Dean pinned every few minutes, but he eventually gathered enough courage to take his first tentative steps onto the grass. Once he was there, Sammy bounded over him and nearly knocked the poor thing flying, but he was ever the careful ‘mama’ and made sure the pup was okay.

For a few minutes Dean followed Sammy round the garden, pausing whenever Sammy wanted to sniff at the grass or cock his leg up against a bush, but he never tried anything himself.

Eventually, Cas came out into the back garden carrying Sammy’s worn harness, and Dean’s brand new one. Like a sixth sense, Sammy seemed to know his harness was out and his head shot up in Cas’ direction. His tongue lolled out happily when he spotted it and he bounded back over to his owners so fast that Dean was practically eating the dirt he left in his wake.

“Alright Sammy, calm down boy,” Gabe laughed at the older pup’s enthusiasm as he took the offered, larger harness from his brother.

Dean was still where Sammy had left him, over in one corner of the garden. He too had seemed to have spotted the harness and was quick to figure out what it was for. He wasn’t making any advances to come towards Cas and instead backed away a few steps. Cas knew he had to go to him.

Dean saw him coming and tried to get away, but Cas was far too quick for him and had his collar before the pup could make a proper run for it.

“Come on, pup,” Cas shushed as he maneuvered Dean into the position he wanted him, to get the harness on him easier. Dean thrashed a little, but Cas easily slipped the soft, nubuck harness over his head, and fastened it around the pup’s front legs. Next came the leash which was attached to the harness and then the collar with a rounding clip, and a sad whine was pulled from Dean.

Cas shushed him with gentle hands and then pulled out two pink bows from his back pocket.

“I brought some pretties for my puppy,” Cas reassured Dean, when the pup’s eyes went even wider at the sight of them. “They’re going to make Dean look extra cute!”

Dean tried to pull away, but Cas was successful in slipping the hairclips into place, just beside each of the pup’s ears.

“There,” Cas gushed, snapping a quick picture with his cell phone. “You look stunning!”

“Really Cas,” Gabe rolled his eyes as Cas pulled Dean back over towards the patio. “I thought we weren’t going to dress him up yet!”

“They’re just bows,” Cas scoffed. “And besides, look how cute he is!”

Gabe chuckled. He did have to agree with that.

-X-

Jensen had no idea what was going on.

First, he had finally been introduced to the back garden, and had easily worked out what they wanted him to do there. He refused though; he would not relieve himself outside! He was a human being for crying out loud! (He tried to ignore the fact that he had been pissing on puppy pads for the last week and a half.)

Then he was hooked up to a harness that felt weird and almost tight against his skin. A leash was attached to him, and he couldn’t help panicking that he was going to be taken out like this, for a ‘walk’. And then Cas just had to humiliate him more by adding _pink_ bows to his hair!

After that, he was led through to a garage and ultimately to a car. It was a large SUV type car. But when Gabe opened up the trunk, he was horrified to see a human-sized crate in the back, much like the one from the centre. He was panicking even more now, refusing to get into the car. In the end, the two men had lifted him in and had closed the crate up with their explanation being _‘you’re too little. You need to travel in your crate.’_ And then Sammy got to climb into the large space beside the crate, free apart from his harness and leash which was still attached to him. Sammy had given the crate a sniff, had barked once and then settled down as Gabe closed the trunk back up.

The car ride had been strange. He couldn’t see out the window’s properly from his crate, and so could only see the blue sky, and he wasn’t used to riding in a moving vehicle backwards.  Plus, riding in the _trunk_ was weird.

When they got to their destination, Jensen was surprised to find a café. Just a simple, small, warm, cosy, inviting café. As Cas opened the crate and guided him down from the car with soft, gentle touches, he noticed that the café was called ‘ _The Waitering Dog_ ’.

Sammy seemed to know where they were, barking in excitement as he jumped from the back of the car. His large, fluffy tail wagged at a mile a minute and he pulled tightly on the leash as he tried to get closer to the building. Gabe laughed as he slammed the trunk shut and fumbled with the keys to lock the car.

As they waited, Jensen shrunk back against Cas. He didn’t know what to think and feel about being out in the open, naked and exposed for the first time in what honestly felt like forever. When he thought of his life before he was taken, it felt like a lifetime ago. Cas seemed to sense Jensen’s uneasiness and brought his hand down to ruffle Jensen’s hair in what he guessed was supposed to be in a comforting manner.

“Good boy,” Cas mumbled when Jensen lifted his head to look at the man.

“Come on then,” Gabe called when he was ready, wrapping the end of Sammy’s leash around his hand a few times so that he had a better grip on it, before he led the way across the road and into the café.

The inside of the café was as nice and cosy as the outside, with large, plush seats and round, worn tables. On the wall were pictures of many different people, the building through the years, artwork and pictures of pets… human pets; Jensen even noticed a few of Sammy! The place was well lit, with skylights to let in natural light and there was a soft, classical-style music playing quietly through the speakers in the background.

The café was clearly already open, with staff milling about dropping off drinks and clearing tables. There were people, customers, sat at tables. Most of the occupied tables were populated by more than one person, chatting while enjoying a drink and each other’s company. On other tables people sat with laptops open and paperwork spread out, clearly working.

Jensen gulped and paled when he noticed that on the floor, beside each table was a cushion. And at almost every occupied table, there was someone on the cushion beside them. Jensen didn’t want to think of them as pets, but looking at all the humans either kneeling or curled up on the cushions, each one with a different set of earls and a tail (there were other dogs, and some cats if he was unmistaken – and was that a ferret? He wasn’t sure).

Jensen froze in the doorway of the café and whined low in his throat. He tried to step backwards, but Cas tugged on the leash, which pulled at the collar. Jensen shook his head and tried to back away again. Cas stepped closer to Jensen again and crouched to his level. Jensen noticed that Sammy had excitedly pulled Gabe through the café and towards the counter, and he whined again, wanting the older dog back again; he felt lost without him.

“Hey,” Cas shushed, his hands gentle as they cupped Jensen’s face. “It’s okay Dean.”

Jensen shook his head, eyes wide and scared. He had no idea what to think, what to feel. He was unsure, scared, confused. He didn’t want to be here; he wanted to be at home in his little nest of blankets, cuddling close to Sammy… wait, no! He shouldn’t want that; he should want his life back, he should want to be away from Cas and Gabe… this wasn’t humane for crying out loud! Why were all the other ‘pets’ so calm and contented? How could they let themselves be subjected to this?

“I know this is scary Dean,” Cas hummed, rubbing that sweet spot behind Jensen’s ear. “Daddy’s not going anywhere. You can stay right close to Daddy, pup.”

Jensen shouldn’t like the sound of that, but it did sound appealing; being around Cas did make him feel rather safe.

“Come on pup,” Cas encouraged, standing back up again. “Let’s go find Papa and Sammy.”

Jensen took a few shaky breaths and stepped up closer to Castiel’s legs, and let him lead the way. As they walked through the café, Dean stayed pressed up against Cas, trying to keep his eyes from straying to the others on the cushions.

Jensen believed that they were going up to the counter to order a drink. Cas did bring them to a stop, and Jensen realised that Sammy and Gabe weren’t here. He threw his head around trying to spot them maybe sat at a table, but they weren’t anywhere he could see.

The woman manning the till greeting Cas with a huge smile.

“Welcome back, Boss!”

“Good morning Meg,” Castiel replied as he pulled up part of the counter and walked through the gap, gently leading Dean with him.

“Is this your new pup?!” The woman, Meg, beamed, her eyes lighting up when they settled on Jensen.

Jensen didn’t like the way she was looking at him and tried to press even closer to Castiel, but there was no where for him to go.

“This is Dean,” Cas replied proudly, his hand rubbing the space between the two ears on top of Jensen’s head. Jensen leant into the touch, but kept his eyes on the woman apprehensively as she stepped closer and began to crouch in front of him.

Dean choked when the collar snapped up tight against his throat as Castiel tugged on it in warning.

“Nicely Dean,” He told Jensen, tone kind but holding a hardness to it that Jensen had yet to hear. He knew then that if he didn’t ‘play nice’ there would be repercussions.

“Hiya boy,” Meg cooed, holding her hand out tentatively. Jensen, who didn’t want to face any consequences for his actions tensed up at her nearing hand, but didn’t back away or show any other distress.

Finally, Meg’s fingers reached his hair and she began scratching just _there_ , in just the right spot and Jensen felt weak at the knees. His ever-heavy tongue in his mouth lolled out from where he wasn’t able to keep it contained in his mouth any longer; ever since the ‘vet’ had given him that shot, his tongue had always felt way too big for his mouth. Meg kept scratching behind the stop, laughing at his reaction as he couldn’t help but tilt towards her, pushing his head further into her hand to keep her scratching. He didn’t realise how dog-like his actions currently were.

“Oh, look at you!” Meg cooed, bringing her other hand up to scratch behind Jensen’s other ear. “You’re so cute!”

Jensen jolted and jumped at Sammy loud bark and opened his eyes in time to see Sammy come barrelling towards him and Meg, nuzzling between him and Meg’s hands. Jensen grunted as he was pushed back, watching as Sammy burrowed his head up against Meg’s chest.

“I didn’t forget about you Sammy!” She chuckled, hands rubbing all over Sammy’s long hair, effectively tangling it together. Sammy barked and yipped, his tail wagging wildly as he readily accepted the fuss.

“Come on Sam,” Cas called, chuckling at the older dogs enthusiasm. “Let Meg get back to work.”

Sammy didn’t seem to be listening and instead lifted his chin slightly and started licking Meg’s face. Meg laughed some more, but began playfully pushing Sammy away. Once she was stood again, she smiled down at Sammy.

“Scram you!” She scolded, but not unkindly. “Before your Daddy fires me for not doing my job!”

Sammy barked once more before taking off in the direction that he’d just come, leaving Cas and Jensen behind in his wake.

“Come on pup,” Cas decided with a sigh, just as Meg greeted a customer. “Let’s go get you ready and settled.”

 _Ready_?! Jensen balked. Ready for what?

Jensen was led past what was very clearly a kitchen, busy if the sounds and smells were anything to go by (Jensen swore he could smell a cheeseburger, and his mouth was watering at the mere thought), and they ended up in what he guessed was a decent sized staff room.

There were lockers on one side of the room, a large kitchenette on the other. A large table for staff to sit at and big comfy looking chairs dotted around a smaller coffee table. In one corner was a large dog’s bed, but it was currently empty.

“It’s good to be back Cassie,” Gabe declared when they entered. Gabe was already in the room, Sammy bouncing around his feet. “And I think Sam here agrees, don’t ya boy?”

Sammy barked a few times, tongue lulling out of his mouth. The sight of it made Jensen conscious of his own and he subtly sucked his tongue back into his mouth, resting it on his teeth for the time being.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be back. I wonder whether Garth has managed to ruin the place in our absence,” Cas joked as he bent down to unclip the leash and remove the harness from Jensen.

“You have little faith,” Gabe scoffed, then noticed Sammy was trying to reach under the table with his head. “Sammy! What are you doing? Stop!”

As Gabe tried to figure out what Sammy was barking about and trying to reach under the table for, Cas wondered over to the lockers and started rummaging around in one.

“Really Sammy?” Gabe cried, sighing as he pulled back from under the table. He had had to resort to crouching down and reaching underneath the table himself, because it was clear that Sammy wasn’t going to stop.

“What is it?” Cas asked, slowly turning around.

Gabe stood to his feet again and help up a chunk of bread that someone had obviously dropped on the floor at some point.

“Anyone would think we don’t feed you!” Gabe mumbled absentmindedly to Sam, stalking quickly across the room to deposit the food scrap in the bin. Sammy followed behind, waiting for his owner to lower his hand and offer it to him; he became disgruntled when he realised that wasn’t going to happen.

Sammy huffed and let Gabe walk away from him. In the next seconds he turned and trundled his way over to the basket in the corner and settled himself down sulkily. He watched his two owners sadly as they busied themselves around the room. Jensen watched him from where Cas had left him standing and slowly built up the courage to trek over to him. Sammy lifted his head interestedly as Jensen came to a stop just outside of his basket.

Sammy mumbled and grumbled, and then let his tongue lull out happily before he squeezed over in his basket to leave room for Jensen. Jensen hadn’t known what he had wanted when he had made his way over to Sammy, but now that there was a space for him he knew he wanted nothing more than to climb in beside him.

It was a bit of a squeeze in the basket with them both, but they made it work; using each other’s body temperatures to keep themselves warm. Together they watched as Cas and Gabe got themselves ready for work. It was becoming apparent to Jensen that one of the brothers, if not both of them, owned and ran the café. They both changed into their uniform, which was the same as the other workers, and fastened name badges to their left pockets.

“Alright you two,” Gabe scoffed at them playfully. “We can’t laze around all day – we’ve got work to do.”

Sammy perked right up, and shook himself free of Jensen’s touch and bounded over to Gabriel. He held his chin high and let Gabe attach something to his collar. Jensen couldn’t see what it was – but he knew it wasn’t a leash as Gabe hadn’t been holding one a moment ago. Sammy was now barking excitedly and wagging his tail again and Jensen found it hard to believe that merely seconds previously Sammy had been sulking over a piece of stale bread.

Gabe approached Jensen next, and crouched down in front of the basket. Jensen wasn’t anywhere near as excited as Sammy was, but still Gabriel acted like he was.

“Hey there Dean-o,” He cooed as he rubbed between Dean’s ears gently. “Your pretty bows make you look gorgeous pup.”

For the first time since they’d arrived at the café, Jensen was forced to remember that Cas had placed pink bows in his hair. He flushed red with embarrassment; as if this wasn’t humiliating enough.

“I’ve got something for you,” Gabe mumbled next, holding out his other hand to show Jensen what was residing there. It was a tag. A silver, bone-shaped, metal dog tag. Jensen could very clearly see the inscribed writing ‘ _Dean; The Waitering Pup.’_ Gabe turned it over. On the back it read ‘ _In training.’_

“It’s for you to wear while we work, pup,” Gabe explained, leaning over and tilting Jensen’s chin with one finger. He made quick work of attaching it to his collar. It clinged and clanged against the metal ‘D’ ring and it made Jensen wonder why he didn’t always have a dog tag on his collar – it made sense to; these people were going all out to make him a dog, yet he didn’t have a dog tag? It seemed strange. “It’s so everyone knows that your working, but it also lets them know that you’re still a baby, and still learning.”

“Gabe; we’re late. We better get out there before our staff get any ideas and try to overthrow us!”

Jensen looked over Gabe’s shoulder to see Cas stood by the staff room door, looking impatient.

“Drama queen,” Gabe muttered to Jensen before standing up with a push to his knees. “Come on boy.”

Cas attached a leash to his collar just before they left the room, the metal on metal tag ringing loudly as they banged together. Jensen was disgruntled to see that Sammy wasn’t getting the same treatment as him and instead could bound ahead of them freely as they walked back through the corridors to the main part of the café again.

“I’m going to get the pup settled,” Cas explained before Gabe disappeared into the kitchen. Cas knew he was on the hunt for Garth, their acting manager for when they both needed time away from the café. Sammy didn’t even try to follow Gabe like he usually would, instead choosing to follow after Cas and Jensen.

Cas led Jensen over to a nest of blankets and pillows that looked very similar to the one back at home. The only difference was that this one had walls, where as now the one at home didn’t. The walls to this nest were half the size of the ones Jensen could remember being around his nest at home, and Jensen knew that anyone taller than an average 4-year old would be able to see over.

He was pleased to see the nest of blankets if he was truly honest, glad that he would be able to try and hide and blank out everything that was going on around him. He also felt a sense of relief and comfort wash over him when he entered the small nest; it gave him a feeling of safe and warm and he curled up in the blankets without having to be told. Cas unclipped the leash again, smoothed his hands over Jensen’s head and shoulders a few times before taking his leave.

“Come on Sam,” Cas called from the doorway.

Jensen threw his head up. Sammy? No! Sammy was supposed to stay with him. He whined, pleased when Sammy hesitated.

“We got work to do Sammy, come on,” Cas encouraged softly, smiling wide and praising the older pup when he scampered out of the nest and back towards the kitchen. “Don’t worry Dean,” Cas soothed. “Sammy’s not going far, pup, don’t worry. Daddy and Papa just have some work to do; we won’t be long, just you wait and see.”

And with that Cas closed the door, slid a lock across and hurried over to the counter where he disappeared behind it again.

Jensen whined low in his throat, watching the space where Castiel had disappeared for a few minutes. The noise of the café was background noise, until someone’s phone started ringing loudly and brought him out of his trance. As he settled back down into the blankets he paid attention to the noises around him.

Chatting and laughing. The clinging of cutlery. Tapping of a keyboard. Soft music soundtracks. The coffee machine. The bell above the door that rang every time someone left or entered.

Jensen perked up when a familiar body started walking towards him. It was Gabe. He jumped up and hurried over to the edge of the nest. He tilted his chin up and was just able to reach the edge of the wall. His tail had a mind of his own, wagging happily as the man approached.

“Hi pup,” Gabe beamed at him, reaching over the wall to rub Jensen’s head. “I brought you some water.”

Jensen watched as Gabe leant over the wall and placed the metal dogs bowl down on the floor. Jensen glared at the thing, unable to believe they thought he would actually drink out a dog’s bowl in front of all these people, but then Gabe was pulling something sweet from his pocket and suddenly that hand had Jensen’s full attention.

Jensen had learnt quite quickly that Sammy got lots of sweet things and treats from Gabriel’s hand. But Jensen had never once, being told that he was too little that first and only time he’d tried to have something. The only things that Jensen had consumed since this all began was the milk from the bottles, water and the oatmeal 3 times a day.

“Shh,” Gabe chuckled as he held the tiny chunk of chocolate out to Jensen. Jensen eagerly slurped the morsel of chocolate into his mouth. “Your Daddy will kill me if he finds out!”

Jensen didn’t care what he looked like as he sniffed desperately at Gabriel’s hand and whined for more.

“Sorry pup, no more,” Gabe chuckled, almost sadly. “You’ll get poorly if I feed you too many sweet things before you can properly stomach them. Be a good boy now.”

And just like Cas, Gabe disappeared behind the counter again.

Jensen watched as staff members came and went, sometimes it was Gabe or Cas but most of the time it was other staff manning the tables. As it hit lunchtime it started to get busy. And that was when Jensen had his first visitor.

“Look mama,” It was a young girl, who looked no older that 7 or 8. “There’s a cute puppy here.”

She begged her mama to touch the puppy, but to Jensen’s relief the woman explained to her daughter that the puppy was still learning and so she would have to watch from a distance for a little while. They weren’t his only visitors. People came and went as they gawked at him – some people tried to talk to him and coax him over to be petted, but Jensen stubbornly stayed curled up in his nest of blankets observing them all. It didn’t occur to him to try and get their attention, to try and explain that he’d been kidnapped and forced to do this, to be like this.

Cas had brought over another metal bowl around lunch time with some of his usual oatmeal in it, but this time Jensen noticed there were a few chunks of fruit mixed with it too and he was too greedy not to gulp them up. Cas praised him quietly before moving back to help his staff manage the busy lunch time shift.

As the café started to quiet considerably and the sky outside started to get dark, Jensen watched as Cas appeared, holding a tray of hot food. He became intrigued when he spotted Sammy trailing after him. Except on Sammy’s head was a plate with a doughnut balanced perfectly on top.

Then it clicked; the name of the café was _The Waitering Dog_. Sammy was thee waitering dog.

As Sammy went past again after dropping off his order, Jensen whined and barked in his direction, getting Sammy’s attention the only way he knew how. Sam spotted him and bolted over, trying desperately to reach Dean over the half wall.

“Alright,” Cas chortled as he followed Sammy. He unlatched the nest. “You can have the rest of the shift off Sammy.” He spoke as if he was talking to an ungrateful employee but he was all smiles and even Jensen knew there was no real malice behind the words.

Sammy was excited to see Jensen if the way his tail wagging was any indication. Once Cas let Sammy in, Jensen relaxed again. Having Sammy back again felt like having his mum around; Sammy would protect him.

Jensen grumbled at the tongue bath he was receiving from Sammy, but the older dog just got more excited when Jensen tried to push him away and so eventually Jensen resigned himself to it and let it happen. Once Sammy appeared satisfied with the pup’s cleanliness he settled down around him and together they dozed off, just enjoying each other’s company.

-X-

That Sunday, Gabe and Cas’ parents came to lunch. And Jensen loved them, especially Marie, their mother. She kept sneaking him little chunks of dried meat and fruit from inside her pocket whenever his Daddies weren’t looking. She smelled like homemade cherry pie, which was one of Jensen’s favourite things from before and he found himself following her around.

Cas and Gabe joked about how Marie had a shadow in Dean, but she didn’t mind calling him a cutie and feeding him more fruit.

Then at lunch, Sammy and Jensen were sent to their bed in the kitchen (the nest had been taken away completely now and was replaced with two overly-large dog pillows). Jensen’s stomach rumbled at the amazing smells that wafted down from the table, his mouth watering. Sammy was snoring quietly behind him, but Jensen couldn’t find it in himself to sleep; he was hungry goddamn it, and the oatmeal alone just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

And then Marie dropped her hand and smiled at him sweetly. There was a slice of chicken between her fingers, and if Jensen was correct in thinking – she was offering that chicken to him. He hurried up, jostling Sammy awake in his haste to get across the kitchen.

“Dean!” Cas snapped when he spotted the puppy moving. “Bed.”

“Oh Cassie,” Marie scolded her son, petting Jensen’s head as he chewed on the chicken. “Dean’s just fine, aren’t you puppy.”

“Mum, he needs to learn,” Gabe pointed out, standing up. Jensen spotted the movement and tensed up. He let his tongue dart over Marie’s fingertips to chase the lingering taste of the chicken. “Bed, Dean,” Gabe repeated Castiel’s command, harder this time.

Jensen didn’t immediately make any move to listen, and was only disappointed when Marie pulled her hands back up to the table and ignored him. Jensen whined pitifully, looking up at her expectedly.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel stepped away from the table and started towards him. Jensen’s heart leapt into his throat and he scurried back over to the pillow. He ducked his head into Sammy’s side when he heard everyone at the table laughing and Gabe returning to his seat.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Gabe chuckled, words not unkind as he picked up his utensils again. “Mum, don’t feed him from the table please, I don’t want him getting bad habits.”

“Bad habits?” Joseph, their father scoffed. “Gabriel, you’re one to talk. Remember our dog, Rowena? She got fat because you wouldn’t stop feeding her your scraps.”

“She wasn’t fat!” Gabriel defended himself, but relaxing as the chat around the table turned to childhood memories.

After they were all finished, everyone helped clear up. Cas had the job of feeding the dogs, and even went so far as to add some left-over chunks of meet into each bowl. Jensen had never been so happy to see meat in his life that he didn’t even care that it was mixed with oatmeal of all things. He ate it all gratefully but couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever get meals like Sammy had – with rice and veg and meat all the time.

It was getting late, but Marie and Joseph didn’t seem like they were even almost ready to go home yet. Even though there were two baskets in the living room, Sammy had chosen to curl up beside Jensen and he was now snoring again, relaxed and content with his tummy full. Jensen didn’t feel tired, but he was happy and full and so let his eyes close.

He listened to the chat around him as it turned from the latest TV shows to the farm that Marie and Joseph lived on and tended to. He zoned out for a little, but came back round when he heard his name.

“Dean’s settled really well boys,” Joseph voiced his thoughts out loud.

“He has,” Cas sounded proud. “He’s been pretty much perfect, all things considered.”

“He knows who’s in charge,” Marie laughed, referring to what had happened at the lunch table.

“Yeah, well Cas has too much of a soft stop for him. So, it’s up to me to play bad cop,” Gabriel scoffed, but he sounded playful.

“Like you don’t spoil Sammy!” Cas defended himself.

There was some quiet bickering between them for a moment or two, but then Marie spoke over them again.

“We’re going to get the nest ready at the farm over the next day or two,” She told them, a hint of excitement to her tone. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pup at the farm, hasn’t it Joe!”

Joseph laughed at his wife. “Too long,” He agreed.

“And Dean will love it on the farm!” Marie went on to explain.

Nest? Farm? Dean? They were sending him to the farm to live with Marie and Joseph?! Jensen had to admit that they were a nice couple, but if he went to live with Marie and Joseph then he would have to leave Cas behind, and Gabe; and Sammy! He didn’t want that! He wanted to stay here! He almost whined low in his throat and lifted his head, but their talk continued and Jensen forced himself to listen.

“Dean will have to stay in the nest for the first few weeks Ma,” Cas explained exasperatedly, as if this was something his mother knew. “He’s going to have a lot of recovering to do.”

Recovering? Jensen panicked. What was he going to be recovering from? He was fine! His legs twitched and he stretched them out slightly, slowly, hoping that the movement didn’t bring their attention. His legs had been getting stronger and stronger these last few days, as if the drug they’d injected him with was wearing off.

“His surgeries are going to knock him for six,” Gabe muttered, a hint of worry to his tone. “I just hope everything’s going to go okay.”

“Everything’ll be fine son,” Joseph reassured his eldest. “What have you got him down for?”

“The usual,” Castiel said. “We’re going to have his vocal cords cut; and we don’t plan to breed him so we’re going to have him castrated as well – lower aggression levels and all that.”

 _What_? No! No, no, no, no, no!

Jensen felt like his heart had stopped and was beating at 100 miles a minute all at the same time. The only thing he could suddenly hear was the blood rushing through his body. The only thing he could see was red.

“No,” He tried to shout, but all that came out was a loud grunt. Before he knew what he was doing, he was on his feet. He was standing on his own two feet, and not on all fours for the first time in weeks. It felt amazing, and surreal.

He was seething though and couldn’t bask in the feeling. Instead he assessed the room from his new height and was surprised with how different it looked.

“No,” He tried again, but only being able to grunt and grumble. It frustrated him even more. How dare they reduce him to this?! How dare they make him look like and act like some animal?! How dare they talk about him and treat him as if he is nothing more than a dog?! And how dare they decide that he needs to go under the knife to have his balls chopped off! No, it wasn’t happening!

Gabriel, Castiel, Marie and Joseph were on their feet. No one seemed like they knew what to do, waiting for Jensen to make the first move.

His eyes darted around wide and angry again, this time looking for an escape route. He found it, the door to the left with no one stood near to it.

He needed out of here; he needed out of here now. It took him no time at all to decide on the best course of action. He took a deep breath and ran.

And in the next second, all hell broke loose.


	5. Fight or Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys - giving you a fair warning here.  
> There is mention of castration (and this time it actually happens; you just dont SEE it happening!!!!)  
> There is also a slight bit which could technially be classed as 'animal abuse', just FYI.
> 
> This was a tricky chapter to write because I wanted to get it just right!! So it's taken some time... plus, real life is a beach and got in the way a lot!!!! Still, this update was quicker than last time!! Hurray!! I hope you all enjoy!!

It was as if time had slowed, yet it all happened so fast.

Only seconds previously _Dean_ had been asleep, curled up with Sammy in his basket in one corner of the room. Everything had seemed perfect… apparently it had been too perfect.

Castiel and Gabriel had known that it was only a matter of time before a meltdown took place. They knew that the pup was in a state of shock, and the drugs they put in his evening bottles still were helping to keep the poor thing slightly docile. But they had been hoping that the inevitable fight would happen _after_ the surgeries took place.

Now though, it was very clearly Jensen who was making a mad dash for the living room door.

“Dean!” Cas and Gabriel both cried after him, lunging almost instantaneously after him. Neither man managed to grab him, with the pup being too far away. He was fast on his feet considering that he had spent almost the last 2 months on his hands and knees with shots keeping his legs numb.

Joseph was the closest to the door, and therefore closest to Jensen’s exit. He reached out to grab the pup as he dashed past. He managed to get a hold of him, but with the speed Jensen was running he merely succeeded in pulling Joseph with him until he managed to slip out of the older man’s hold.

The three men were hot on his heels, rushing out the room after him. None of the men had spared a thought to poor Sammy as they rushed past him, so neither of his owners realized that the older pup who was sat in his basket was struggling out of his own headspace.

Jensen made a mad dash for the front door when he spotted it, almost being able to smell the freedom on his tongue. All that was standing between him and the outdoors was that one, insulting door. He had an unrealistic plan to rip the door from its hinges and throw it behind him to stop his kidnappers.

They were all screaming and yelling and scrambling after him. The adrenaline flowing through Jensen like a river was the only thing keeping him going. He just had to cross a few more feet and he’d be there, through the door and free. He could do it, he had to do it. He couldn’t stay here a moment longer. How he had stayed all this time was beyond him. It was almost as if he had a filter on his thoughts that stopped him from even thinking about escape and how wrong this was. But as soon as the word ‘surgeries’ had been uttered the filter broke and all these thoughts about _wrong, bad, escape_ crashed through the dam.

Something collided into Jensen’s back full force sending him crashing to the ground. Jensen roared when he realized that it was Gabriel on top of him, the body weight of the smaller man heavier than he had been expecting. He thrashed like a drowning man, grunting and heaving and ignoring the orders to ‘ _Stop! Dean! STOP!’_. He grabbed furiously at the smaller man’s shoulders and headbutted him hard at the same time as he brought his leg up between his knees.

The loud cry and groan of pain that left Gabriel’s lips as he instinctively rolled off of him, clutching his manhood was music to Jensen’s ears. Jensen scrabbled to get his legs to work with him, but they were like jelly and kept slipping on the laminate flooring underneath him. He bellowed his complaints when instead of getting to his feet, another body was on top of him, heavier this time. As Jensen reared his head, he made out the form of Joseph and bucked like his life depended on it; at this stage, he was worried it did.

Suddenly there were multiple hands on him, pushing and pulling. He spun around with a snarl behind his teeth hands wild and uncoordinated as they aimed at anyone and everyone surrounding him. He hit home a few times before his hands were taken in strong grasps. Someone was straddling him, and it took a moment to make out Gabriel sat on top of him through the angry haze that now clouded his vision.

He wanted to scream and shout, to shriek and cry. He wanted to yell at them with all his might and curse them until his throat went hoarse. If he had his voice, he would. He tried to do so, with all his might, but all that left his mouth were furious grunts and groans, loud but not intimidating, nor getting his point across.

With his hands held down by Joseph (although at this point, he just looked like on older Gabriel, just with shorter and darker hair) and Gabriel on top of him, Jensen’s panic skyrocketed. He bucked and jerked and fought as much as he could, attempting to dislodge their hold on him so he could once again scamper away. His legs flew haphazardly, hoping he hit a target. The weight on his groin shifted and was instead replaced on top of his legs, keeping them in place.

Jensen screamed and screamed at the top of his lungs. He didn’t stop. He tried to throw Gabriel off, but the weight on his legs was too much and he couldn’t get any purchase or momentum behind him. He tugged desperately on his arms, but the hands holding him down were too strong and he only managed to move them slightly to the left.

Over his own constant screaming he became aware of words being shouted over him. He couldn’t hear, nor did he find himself caring what was being said.

With his limbs effectively held down and restrained he was running out of attacking options. Castiel’s face appeared above his own in the next second, saying something. Jensen didn’t know whether he was talking to him or not, but the hands on his face were soothing, kind and were clearly intended to be calming. Jensen stopped screaming, but more for the fact that he couldn’t scream any longer. His breathing was loud and erratic as he drew in deep, angry breaths.

“That’s it,” Castiel was muttering, his own voice rushed and panicked, but keeping a hint of calm. Jensen’s wide, untrusting, furious eyes found Castiel’s worried, ice-blues. “That’s a good boy. Good boy Dean. Daddy’s good puppy.”

Jensen seethed, his breathing picking up even more. Puppy? He wasn’t a fucking dog! He pulled on his arms and legs forcefully once more, but could tell that he wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Good boy Dean. Shush now. Everything’s going to be okay,” Castiel kept muttering sweet nothings, but the wide, worried look didn’t leave his eyes. “Good boy. Good puppy.”

If they wanted a dog, Jensen would show them a fucking dog. He raised his head and sunk his teeth into the side of Castiel’s hand, hard.

Castiel cried out in agony, and instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but Jensen’s teeth held too tight a grip. There was more shouting above him and it wasn’t until Jensen could taste blood on his tongue that he let go, his head hitting against the laminate flooring with a thud. He spat uselessly, wanting to rid the horrible tangy, bloody taste from his mouth.

He couldn’t find it in himself to feel bad as Castiel reared back, clutching his hurt hand carefully in his good one.

“Are you okay?!” Joseph cried, wanting to help his son, but knowing that if he let go of the raving man below him that they could all end up in a much worse state.

“I’m fine,” Cas hissed, but winced as he stretched his fingers out. “It’s not too bad.”

“I don’t think he’s going to calm down by himself, Cas!” Gabriel cried, leaning down to hold Jensen’s hips to the ground in hopes that it would stop him from bucking so much. It didn’t help much. “We’re going to need a sedative before he hurts himself!”

Castiel barely nodded, before he disappeared, heading towards the laundry room.

Jensen began thrashing again, with more force. He couldn’t allow them to sedate him; if they did his ticket out of here was gone. He didn’t know what would wait for him after this if he didn’t manage to get away. He couldn’t stay here a moment longer.

A different pressure was applied to his arms, and Jensen was quick to realize that Joseph was kneeling on them, instead of holding them down. His hands moved to hold Jensen’s head still against the floor; either to stop him from attempting to bite again, or to ensure he didn’t hurt himself against the hard flooring… maybe both.

The anger that had been cooking in Jensen’s blood boiled over and with new found strength (although, Jensen was pretty sure it was the adrenaline) Jensen yanked his arms, managing to get one free. He didn’t stop to celebrate though, knowing that time was currently against him. Joseph bent over him in a mad dash to try and grab his arm and Jensen took the opportunity to slam his embow into the mans face with a satisfying ‘thwack’.

Joseph fell backwards, letting go of Jensen’s head and falling off of his other arm. With his upper body free, Jensen knew that he now had the ability to rid himself of Gabriel’s weight. He heard Gabriel shouting panickily for Castiel, but paid him no mind as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

At the same time Castiel all but skidded back into the hallway, crashing hard to his knees beside Jensen and Gabriel, a large needle in his hand. He wasted no time and pushed the needle quite forcefully into the skin of Jensen’s thigh.

The sting made Jensen hiss, and then when he realized what had happened he thundered and screamed and flailed. But Gabriel was clambering off of Jensen’s legs himself, without Jensen having to intervene.

If Jensen had the time, he would probably have taken a moment to question that action, but he didn’t. He didn’t know how soon the sedative was going to kick in, and he needed to be away from this house before it did. He rose to his feet in the blink of an eye and ran past Joseph, who was sat on the floor with his head between his knees.

Finally, Jensen had his hand on the doorknob. He twisted and pulled, and twisted and pulled; again, and again and again. Nothing happened. He rattled the door so hard that it was a wonder it didn’t rip right from the doorframe.

“It’s locked Dean,” Came Gabriel’s exhausted, sorrowful voice.

Jensen kicked the offending piece of wood and spun on the spot. He observed the three men before him, calculating them and wondering if either was going to make a move. He decided that he might as well give it a try and let his feet carry him hurriedly through to the kitchen.

He made towards the back door, knowing that it was bound to be open. However, he took four steps across the room when his vision turned really blurry and he suddenly felt really drowsy. He stumbled and grabbed hold of a dining chair to keep him upright.

 _No!_ He screamed, grunting in displeasure. He just needed a few more minutes! That’s all he needed; enough time to leave the house and work out how to get out of the back garden. _Come on!_

He gritted his teeth and took a few, quick grounding breaths before he pushed himself off of the chair and stepped away from the table.

He managed two more, clumsy steps before his legs completely gave way beneath him. He saw the ground getting closer, but was caught in someone’s arms. The person holding him stumbled underneath his weight, but another set of hands came to help.

“I gotcha Dean,” A familiar voice muttered, and it took Jensen an embarrassingly long moment to work out that it was Gabriel. “Papa’s got you, buddy.”

Jensen’s eyelids grew heavy, and he fought to keep them open. He was being lowered carefully to the ground, and even though he tried to fight and struggle against him, his limbs were not cooperating. Castiel (and Jensen only knew it was Castiel because of those piercing blue eyes) slid a pillow under his head and ran gentle fingers through his hair.

“Don’t worry sweet boy,” Castiel’s grumbly voice broke through to him, through the sound of his own heart thudding away in his chest. “We’ll get you all fixed up again and back to your usual happy self in no time, Daddy promises.”

It was the last thing Jensen remembers before his eyes flickered shut and unconsciousness dragged him down.

-X-

As soon as Dean lost his battle with the drug, the three men who had been struggling with him for the last 20 minutes let out a collective sigh of relief. They all fell back on the kitchen floor, taking a moment to compose themselves.

“Now, I’ve seen pets fight,” Joseph mumbled after a minute or so of complete silence. “But it has been a long time since I’ve seen one fight like that.”

“Not even Sammy was that bad,” Castiel muttered, thinking out loud and sharing a slightly concerned look with his brother. It was the first time either of them had thought about their older pup, and they felt rather bad about it. It didn’t take a genius to work out that their mother was with him, which reassured the brothers that Sammy was just fine.

“Is everyone alright?” Gabe asked as he pushed himself onto his knees, getting ready to stand. He knew that each of them had taken a battering from the unconscious pup on the ground. He rubbed at his head at the thought, but the pain from the headbutt he had received was now a dull throb.

“I might need some ice for my nose,” Joseph explained. “I don’t think he broke anything, but I can feel it swelling.”

“Cas?” Gabe glanced over at his younger brother. “How’s your hand?”

“It hurts,” Cas grumbled, only now being able to take a proper look at it. “But I think I’ll be alright.”

“Let me see,” Joseph demanded, scooting over to his younger son and taking his hand gently. He turned it over and closely observed the wound. It hadn’t bled much, but there was a trace of blood in each teeth indent. It looked sore and painful, and was slightly swollen. “Let’s get some ice on it.”

“You guys get ice,” Gabriel dictated, pushing himself to stand. “I’ll get a muzzle and some drugs for the pup.”

As Gabe left the room, Castiel looked over his puppy sadly. The poor thing was so confused at the moment. The beginning of the transition was always difficult for any new pet, Castiel knew that. He had lived through the conditioning of numerous new pets and animals on the farm when he was growing up and he had heard many conditioning stories from his friends. Whenever they told him stories, he just took it on the chin as it was something every pet had to go through before they settled into their new role… but when it was his own, his Dean, it hurt. Castiel hated that he had to go through that, that he couldn’t understand everything going on.

Joseph helped Cas to his feet and sat him down at the kitchen table. He knew that his son was emotional right now, and could completely understand having been through the process too many times to count, and it never got any better. Joseph also knew that his second youngest had already built such a close bond with the pup currently unconscious on the floor.

As Joseph passed some ice to Castiel and pressed some to his own face, Gabriel came back into the room. The elder brother said nothing as he crouched down next to Dean. He looked apologetic as he combed fingers through the pup’s short hair.

Both Joseph and Castiel watched as Gabriel moved efficiently and silently. He gently pushed his fingers into the pup’s mouth to pull it open, and carefully pushed the tube of the muzzle into place. He positioned the muzzle better, before tightening the straps around his head. The muzzle was a special one, in the sense that the tube attached was for feeding; so that the muzzle didn’t have to come off.

Gabriel started turning over each of Dean’s limbs in turn, checking his head and his eyes to ensure he didn’t have concussion.

“I think he’s okay,” Gabe muttered to the room, voice barely above a whisper.

“We’ll call Lucifer in the morning,” Cas replied. “Just to double check.”

Gabriel nodded in agreement, but said nothing as he began preparing the shot for the pup’s legs. He smoothed down Dean’s calf muscle and carefully pressed the needle into his skin. He shushed Dean softly as if the poor thing was fussing and then sat back sadly.

“I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

“Me either,” Cas agreed heavy-heartedly. “But things should get better from here.”

No one said anything for a moment, but the sound of Marie and Sammy out in the hallway drifted through to the kitchen.

“Come on,” Joseph sighed, placing his ice down on the table and stepping towards the pup and his second eldest son. “Let’s get him moved before Sammy gets here.”

Together, and almost effortlessly, Joseph and Gabriel hoisted Dean into the air. Quickly and easily they moved across the kitchen and headed towards the laundry room where the pup’s crates were kept.

At the same time as they disappeared through the door, Marie popped her head around the kitchen doorway.

“Is the coast clear dear?” She asked Castiel. “Can I let Sammy in?”

Castiel smiled sadly with a small nod. But in the next second Sammy bounded in, straight for him, hair flopping all over the place with a huge smile on his face.

“Hi gorgeous boy!” Cas beamed, finding the older pups happiness contagious. He ruffled Sammy’s hair with his good hand and felt a weight lifted off his shoulders with the way Sammy snuggled into his side. “You’re such a good boy Sammy,” Cas promised the pup as he leant across the table and pulled the bowl of dried fruits towards him. He picked out a few smaller pieces and held them out for Sammy to take. Sammy sniffed and wagged his tail appreciatively as he eagerly chewed down the treats.

Marie stepped around Sammy and sat at the dining table chair opposite her son. She smiled fondly as she watched him interact with the pup, not butting in; both Cas and Sammy needed it.

Gabe and Joseph re-entered the kitchen only moment’s later, and upon spotting his other owner, Sammy dashed towards him begging for another fuss. Gabe didn’t hesitate to smother Sammy with hugs and rubs and pats, all the while the older pup wagged his tail so fast it was a wonder it didn’t fall off!

“What happened?” Marie asked Castiel softly, nodding to his hand, the ice pack keeping the bite concealed. Cas moved the ice off and moved his hand closer for his mother to see, watching as her eyes bulged.

“I think I can make out every tooth that’s in Dean’s mouth,” She mumbled, gently taking his hand in hers and turning it over. “I expect you’ll be okay, but you should certainly get a professional opinion on it. Maybe get Lucifer to look it over.”

“I will, ma,” Cas smiled at her, wincing slightly as she danced fingertips over the mark.

“I’m going to clean it and bandage it for you though, okay?” Marie went on, kindly. “Stop any possible infection.”

Marie set about retrieving the stuff she would need, while Gabriel began making everyone a hot drink. They all needed something a bit stronger after the ordeal they had just been through, but his parents had driven over; Gabe didn’t think it fair to drink in front of them, so he left the liquor cabinet shut.

Sammy wouldn’t leave Gabe alone, dancing under his feet, even after Gabe warned him that he was going to get hurt if he didn’t watch out. Cas chuckled, watching as Gabe struggled to get the stubborn pup to listen.

“Cassie,” Marie mumbled quietly, so only her son could hear her. She was currently wrapping a soft bandage around his hand expertly. She had become quite experienced in first aid, after having brought Gabriel up. “Sammy didn’t deal well with what just happened with Dean.”

“That’s understandable,” Cas nodded, keeping his voice just as quiet as his mothers, but unsure why.

“Well… I watched him, hunny. And well… for a moment, it wasn’t Sammy.”

Cas snapped his head round and assessed his mother. His heart started pounding in his chest at the mere thought. Sammy had been doing so well, seemed like he was still doing so well… surely, they hadn’t had a slip of a headspace? It certainly didn’t seem like it. But, when Marie looked up at Cas, Cas could tell that she was deadly serious.

“I saw the switch from Sammy to Jared, Cas,” Marie nodded. She ducked her head and finished off the bandage with a safety pin. “That’s the main reason I removed him from the room. I sat with him and spoke to him almost as if he was a new-born pup again; it seemed to do the trick.”

Cas let his gaze drift over to Sammy who was now sat at Joseph’s feet, his mean puppy-dog eyes in full force as Joseph ate a chocolate bar. Everything seemed okay, but when Castiel spoke to Gabriel later the two men would agree to keep a slightly closer eye on him.

-X-

The next morning, they gave Lucifer a call and explained what had happened. In less than an hour, the vet was at their door. The vet sat with the two brothers for a little while and listened as they retold the story.

“We just wanted to get a professional to look him over and give him the all clear. He gave us all quite a battering last night, and in turn most likely hurt himself,” Gabriel voice their concerns.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Lucifer reassured. “But you did the right thing, calling to check.”

They left Sammy in the living room, much to the older pup’s disgust, as they led the vet through the house and into the laundry room.

Besides the washing machine and dryer (and junk, but they all ignored that) there were two large crates in the laundry room. One was completely empty, and had been for months. Dean was in the other. He was awake, and as soon as he saw them he started grumbling. With the muzzle on, it almost sounded like growling. He started struggling, clearly wanting out of the cage and the muzzle off.

“Hi Dean,” Lucifer cooed softly, crouching to his knees in front of the crate. “You had quite an eventful night last night, huh buddy?”

Cas and Gabe watched on, not saying anything. Dean kept trying to pull the muzzle off, but it was proving impossible with his mittens on. He threw his head from side to side and when he eventually admitted that it wasn’t coming off he snapped his head towards Lucifer. He tried to speak, but again the only thing they could hear were grunts and growls; it just proved to rile Dean further.

“I just want to make sure you’re not poorly or hurt, Dean,” Lucifer continued, ignoring all the pup’s struggles, physically and mentally. “Shall we do it the easy way, pup, or the hard way?” Lucifer shuffled closer to the crate and pressed his hand against the metal bars. Dean all but snarled at the fingers and Lucifer nodded.

“Okay,” He shushed. “I’ll get the drug.”

“Drug?” Castiel asked. He didn’t have a doubt that Lucifer knew what he was doing, but he just wanted to know what Lucifer was giving him and why.

“Just a calming drug,” Lucifer explained as he dug what he needed out of his bag. “Keeps him quiet and lethargic and I can check him over easier. Easy boy,” Lucifer hummed to the pup, pressing the needle between the bars and into Dean’s skin. He sat back and started discarding it all into the mini-portable, lockable bin he always took with him. “If you like, I can prescribe some to keep him more docile from now until the surgeries?”

Cas and Gabe glanced at each other, but they didn’t need to talk about this one.

“Yes please,” Cas nodded, as they waited for the drug to kick in. Dean’s struggles had quickly died down, and it clearly took every ounce of Dean’s strength to stay on all fours.

“There we go; good boy,” Lucifer hushed as he reached to unlatch the crate door. Gabe hurried over to help and together they guided the lethargic pup out. They were able to lay the boy flat on his back and move his limbs into the position the vet wanted, the pup couldn’t fight. “I’ll prescribe you something not so strong, but it’ll be enough to keep him calm and content.”

Then the vet got to work, checking over every part of Dean to ensure that he hadn’t hurt himself in yesterday’s fight. He shined a torch in his eyes, and the poor thing flinched back from the sudden bright light, but it proved he didn’t have concussion. Lucifer even turned him over and to check his back, head and tail

“Everything seems okay. He got very lucky,” Lucifer nodded after so long. He reached over to pull Dean back onto him back onto his side. He spoke as he moved Dean’s legs back up so that they looked much more like a pet’s. Dean was unable to fight the movement, but he was able to rumble his obvious displeasure.

Next, Lucifer stood. He left Dean curled up just outside his crate and stepped towards the two owners who were still watching on silently.

“You said he bit you Cas?” Lucifer phrased it as a question, even though it wasn’t really.

“Uh, yeah,” Cas nodded, subconsciously taking his injured, still bandaged hand in his good one.

“Can I have a look at it?” Lucifer asked. “I’ll just make sure that it looks okay, and decide whether there may be any chance of infection of anything like that.”

Again, Cas nodded and held his hand out. The vet took it carefully and ever so gently began unwrapping the skilfully applied bandage. Cas hissed as the cool air hit the broken skin.

“It broke the skin,” Lucifer hummed as he looked Cas hand over, taking in the now purpling skin that was in an almost perfect circle around the teeth indents.

“Yeah, hurts like a bitch,” Cas complained, settling a large frown on his face.

“Well, the good news is, there doesn’t seem to be any infection. There’s no yellowing or pus and the skin doesn’t feel too warm or feverish. Hopefully the worst you’re going to receive is that nasty bruise that’ll stick around for a week or two,” Lucifer explained kindly. “However, it did break the skin. Now, Dean’s first blood results back clean, but as you know he can still pick things up such as tetanus, which can be transferred through bites such as this one – so what I’m going to do is take some bloods and make sure there’s nothing new that he may have passed on.”

Lucifer worked quickly, getting the three vials of blood he needed before putting them safely away in his bag.

“Dean’s going to be pretty out of it for the next few hours,” Lucifer went on. “Did you want him back in his crate or…?”

“Let’s bring him through to the kitchen,” Gabe decided, not missing a beat. “He can lie on his bed until the drug starts to wear off and then we’ll get the leash.”

Cas and Gabe had spoken about what to do with Dean until late last night, for hours after their parents had gone home. It had taken some deciding, but they knew that Dean was going to fight as much as he could and whenever he could until his surgeries. They also knew that they couldn’t keep him in his crate the whole time. There was almost a whole week until Dean was booked in for his surgeries. Eventually they decided that they were going to keep him on a tight leash… literally.

Cas went into the kitchen first to make everyone a drink while Lucifer and Gabe moved Dean from the floor of the laundry room to the large pillow just inside the kitchen. Sammy was there, barking and yapping like mad when he saw Dean. Cas held the older dog back as the other two men got the pup settled and only when Gabe gave a nod did he let Sammy go.

As Lucifer began writing out a prescription for the calming drug, Sammy dashed towards Dean and started sniffing and licking him all over, doing his own checks on the pup. When he apparently deemed him okay, he curled up around him like usual. They all watched, looking for any annoyance or anger towards Sammy from Dean, but there was nothing; and when the older pup led down behind him, Dean’s whole body seemed to lean into him.

“Things are looking great between them both,” Lucifer commenting, thanking Cas for his coffee as the three men sat around the table.

“They’re two peas in a pod,” Cas chuckled. “Where one is, the other isn’t far behind.”

“Dean practically worships the ground Sammy walks on, and Sammy mothers the hell out of Dean,” Gabriel added fondly.

Next, they went on to discuss the plans for Dean from now until his surgeries. Lucifer nodded, seeming to like what the two brothers had planned.

“I’ve had a cancellation recently,” Lucifer mused. “If you wanted to bring his surgeries forward.”

Both owner’s eyes lit up at this news. They had both said only last night that they wished the surgeries could be done sooner, but they knew that Lucifer’s schedule was busy and jam-packed without even having to ask him. But it seemed like fate was actually going in the favour today!

“How soon?”

“In 3 days time,” Lucifer smiled. “I know it’s not that much sooner, but I’m more than happy to move him forward for you if you’d like.”

Once that was all agreed and finalised, the brothers quizzed Lucifer on what other measures they could take with Dean. Lucifer reminded them that they could alter Dean’s legs if they wanted to, and that way he would never be able to get to his feet again. It was irreversible, and the brothers had always agreed that perhaps that was going a step too far. Lucifer then explained their other options which included permanent mittens, which would allow Dean’s hands to be spread flat rather than bunched up in fists like they currently were, and a chip in the back of his spin which would not allow him to stretch his legs and get to his feet.

The brother’s liked the sound of them, especially how the chip could be removed if they so desired, and that the mittens could be taken off with a teeny-tiny key-hole to the side. Lucifer added these to his list of things to prepare for Dean’s surgeries.

-X-

Jensen had no idea what was going on. He had woken up cold and sore. His head was thumping ever so slightly and there was a pinch in his thigh. There was something plastic in his mouth, keeping his jaw slightly opened, and straps around his face and head to keep it in place.

Then the _vet_ had come to visit, and Jensen had panicked. He knew he’d attacked last night, he’d bit Cas for Christ sake; he couldn’t help but think that Cas and Gabe wanted him put down like any old vicious dog.

But he’d just injected him with something that made him completely weak and unresponsive. He hadn’t been able to completely hear or understand what they were saying; it was as if he was underwater. They moved him about as easy as anything. He recognised when he had some bloods taken, but the rest of it was just a fuzzed over mess.

Then he was moved, which threw him right off and actually made him rather queasy. But when they settled him on one of the large pillows and let Sammy curl up with him, he felt a lot better. He was sure that he dozed off at some point, with Sammy’s skin up against him, remining him that he wasn’t alone in all of this. But he had to wake up again at some point.

And when he did, it was to Castiel approaching him with a leash. He tried to struggle, but some of the drugs were still in his system and he didn’t get far. Castiel just held onto his collar and clicked the leash onto the D-ring.

“There we go sweet boy,” Castiel reassured, voice soft as he lifted his jumper slightly and tied the short leash to the belt hoop on his trousers. “Now you can stay safe and close to Daddy.”

Jensen balked at the idea and pulled his head back slightly, making the leash pull tight. He had been hoping for the end of the leash to come loose, but Cas had tied it expertly.

“Come on Dean,” Cas cooed, gently tugging back the other way. “Let’s get you something to eat; I bet the puppy is _so_ hungry!”

Jensen had the right mind to stay planted on the pillow, but the promise of food had him eager to follow, despite the leash. And yeah, food meant a bowl on the floor, but it also meant getting the stupid thing off his face and out of is mouth; and he was more than ready to get rid of the intruding thing. Also, food meant strength, and if he was ever going to get out of here he was going to need all the strength he could get.

The leash that kept Jensen tethered to Cas was so short that Jensen had to crawl two steps behind Cas, or risk his air supply being cut off by the collar. It didn’t take him long to work that out, and he noticed that Cas was actually walking slowly just so that Jensen had time to shake his heavy limbs out and work out the right pace he had to keep.

It felt like it took forever to get across the kitchen, but Jensen knew in reality that it didn’t take any time at all. He was slow and sluggish from the drugs still, but he was glad that he could see and hear everything properly again, and at least he could move now.

Cas clearly had everything ready, waiting on the kitchen side. Jensen’s poor tummy grumbled in anticipation, and he found himself not caring that he was either about to be fed from the floor or given a bottle; he just needed some supplement. Cas gathered everything he needed and moved over to the dining table. He sat down and patted his knee, inviting Jensen even closer.

Jensen shuffled between the man’s legs. He wanted to scream at him and fight so badly. He wanted out of here desperately, to get away from these mad people. But he was currently drugged and weak. He wasn’t stupid; he knew that he was going to have to pretty much play along for a little, get some food and water into him so that he could build up strength again, until he was able to take a crack at escaping again. Because nothing and nobody was going to keep him here!

“Good boy Dean,” Cas smiled warmly, patting Jensen’s head, and almost teasingly rubbing behind his left ear. Jensen hummed at the pleasant touch, unable to stop the groan when the touch left him. “Okay, pup; let’s get some food into the grumbly tummy of yours, eh?”

Jensen waited patiently, having resigned himself to a bottle as they were sat at the table. That was fine though; at least he could still get the stupid face contraption off. His jaw was aching from behind held in the same position, and unable to move it. He was almost excited.

But then Cas brought a thick, plastic, needleless syringe towards him, and Jensen recoiled.

 _No, no, no_! He pulled back, turning his head away and refusing the familiar, white, milky substance inside.

“Come on Dean,” Cas shushed, having expected this response from the pup. “I bet you’re so hungry.”

Dean grunted, and tried to shuffle backwards as much as the least would allow him. Cas, however reached forward and took his collar in his hand before he could move. He used some force, but not unkindly, to turn Jensen’s head back around. Before he could even try and fight it, the syringe was placed against the entrance of the tube in his mouth, and the warm, milky, sweet oatmeal flowed into his mouth.

Jensen swallowed at the intrusion, gulping down the oatmeal. It tasted divine, but Jensen coughed and spluttered when Cas withdrew the syringe.

“Good boy Dean,” Cas praised heavily, rubbing his head again. Jensen shook his head slightly, as much as he could from where Cas was still holding his collar. The praise warmed him slightly, and he hated that; he didn’t want their praise, god damn it!

Cas pushed more oatmeal out of another syringe, through the tube and into Jensen’s mouth. Jensen seethed when he started to realize that they could feed him while he still had the tube inserted in his mouth. There was nothing more he could do though as Cas pressed syringe after syringe into his mouth.

After 5 oatmeal filled syringes, Cas stopped.

“There we go,” Cas shushed. “There’s a good boy Dean. I bet that’s all better.”

Cas stood again a few moments later, gathering up the syringes. Jensen had to follow his movements, even when the guy wasn’t walking, otherwise the collar would pull on his neck. Cas hummed as he slowly walked over to the kitchen sink and deposited the syringes for cleaning later.

“Come on sweet boy,” Cas cooed, dropping his hand to Jensen’s head. “Let’s go and see Papa, pup.”

Gabe had his feet up on the coffee table in the living room. Sammy was curled up under his legs, but as soon as he noticed Cas and Jensen enter, he pushed up and rushed over. His tongue lulled out happily as he approached them.

Jensen couldn’t deny that he was relieved to see him, but he couldn’t stop to say hello. Cas greeted Sammy briefly with a head rub and then continued on towards the couch. He sat down beside his brother who was now sat up.

“Hiya Dean-o,” Gabe beamed, reaching over and scratching dull fingernails under his chin. “Are you feeling a bit better now?”

Jensen huffed and narrowed his eyes. Gabe merely chuckled and sat back again.

“Everything go okay?” He asked Cas.

“As okay as it could go. He was a good boy,” Castiel nodded.

Sammy had trekked after them as they’d walked further into the room, and now he was bouncing around Jensen, sniffing and licking, and making Jensen squirm. Jensen whined when Sammy licked a long strip up his side. It made the two owners laugh.

-X-

Over the next few days, the puppy seemed to get used to being on the leash all the time. He didn’t like it, but it was something that he was going to have to deal with until his surgeries.

The leash was short enough that he had no option but to follow when either of his owners started walking, but it was long enough that he could lie down whenever Cas or Gabe sat down. At night he was placed in his crate and then reattached to the leash first thing in the morning.

Not once did the muzzle get removed, much to Dean’s disgust. He was fed 3 times a day through the tube in his mouth. The muzzle would only be removed once the surgeries were complete. Hopefully then, it would have been enough time for the pup to learn that biting was _unacceptable_.

Dean was unable to run and play with Sammy, which seemed to annoy them both. Dean would have to watch from the side lines, still roped to either Cas or Gabe, as the other pup roamed the garden and the house freely. Sammy did often choose to stick close to Dean though, which seemed to relax Dean the majority of the time.

The calming drug that Lucifer prescribed them was administered with every meal. The pup didn’t even realize that he was being fed them, but it kept him calm and docile and apart from a pull on the leash or a hard stare they didn’t have any more fighting.

That night, Marie had rung them to let them know that everything was ready and in place. She had been excited when Gabe had called her and said that the surgeries were being brought forward. She had got the nest finished in record time. The reason why Dean would be going to the farm to recover from his surgeries was so that everyone could keep a close eye on him. It was to make sure that there could always be someone with him, making sure that he didn’t hurt himself or pull his stiches. There were plenty of eyes at the farm with them all there with Cas, Gabe, their older brother, younger brother and their parents.

Cas closed the door of the crate shut and smiled kindly at Dean’s heavy eyes.

“Don’t worry, my sweet pup,” He hushed. “After tomorrow, everything will be all better. I promise.”

Castiel registered the flash of worry in Dean’s eyes, but he merely shushed him before he left the room.

Sammy was waiting just outside the closed laundry room door. He perked up when Cas left the room he’d entered with Dean. When the older dog realized that the pup wasn’t with his owner, he tried looking round the doorframe.

“Come on Sammy,” Cas called, pulling the door shut with a soft click. “Dean’s gone to sleep. It’s time for us to go to bed as well. We’ve all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Sammy whined, staying beside the door as Cas checked the back door was locked.

“Come on Sammy. Bath time then bed time,” Cas reiterated.

Sammy frowned at that, which was unusual, and used his mittened paw to claw at the bottom of the door. He barked once then sat back stubbornly to glare at Cas.

Castiel sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. He walked out the kitchen muttering something about stubborn dogs and sought out Gabriel.

“Go and sort your dog out,” He ordered, pointing vaguely in the kitchen’s direction. Gabe broke out in a huge grin and jumped up from the armchair.

“What’s he doing?”

“Stubborn. Bloody stubborn. That’s what he is,” Cas turned and walked from the room, calling back. “I’ll run a bath!”

When Gabe entered the kitchen, Sammy was curled up beside the door, his nose pressed right to the floor sniffing at the slight gap underneath the door. He barked once, twice and then reluctantly laid his head down. He looked just about ready to fall asleep there.

“What’s going on Sammy?” Gabe cooed at him, approaching him leisurely, with a soft smile. Sammy’s head snapped up at the sound of Gabe’s voice and Gabe watched as the pup jumped up with fresh enthusiasm. He pawed at the door and barked, almost bugging to be let into the laundry room.

“I know you want to be with the puppy, boy. But Dean needs to sleep in his crate tonight. And you need a bath,” Gabe poked Sammy’s side gently. “Cause you stink boy.”

Sammy huffed, and threw a sideways glance at Gabe. He didn’t want to move from this spot.

“Come on,” Gabe stated, a hint of finality to his tone. He knew he would have to resort to bribery. “You want some chocolate boy?”

Castiel was almost on top of him as he reached the top of the stairs. His younger brother glanced behind him and then fixed his brother with a hard stare.

“Where’s Sam?”

“So, uh… Sam’s sleeping in the laundry room tonight,” Gabe admitted sheepishly.

“Gabe!” Cas cried, almost outraged. “What happened? You were supposed to get him to come for a bath.”

“Well, you said it yourself,” Gabe defended himself. “He’s a stubborn ass.”

Cas shook his head in disbelief, but he couldn’t help the smirk that started to grow.

“And you should have seen them Cas, when Sammy ran in. Dean fell asleep almost instantly, as soon as Sammy laid as close to his crate as he could.”

And Cas couldn’t be mad at that.

-X-

The next morning was a bright and early one. Cas was awake first and checked on the pups in the laundry room. Both of them were still out for the count.

Cas was making a quick breakfast of eggs and toast when Gabriel rose. He stumbled into the kitchen, still looking half asleep. He spoke to Cas, but the younger brother wasn’t entirely sure what he had said, and he choose not to reply, instead placing a plate of food in front of him.

Sammy woke during breakfast and sauntered into the kitchen with a huge stretch. Cas had quickly made his morning oatmeal up and was keeping it warm in the microwave. Sammy sat on his pillow, sniffing almost desperately towards the table.

The brother’s finished their breakfast quickly and as Gabriel cleared the table, Cas placed Sammy’s bowl down for him. The dog lapped it up eagerly as the owners moved about the house getting everything they needed together.

Cas packed their overnight bags into the car along with stuff for both Sammy and Dean. It was all stuff that they were going to need at the farm.

While Cas did that, Gabe gathered paperwork, Sammy’s harness and leash and prepared the sedative they were going to need.

Cas appeared back in the kitchen as Sammy finished his breakfast. He easily spotted his harness waiting for him in Gabe’s hand, and he went into override. He almost jumped over to his owners, his tails wagging quickly and tongue lulling out causing him to drool white-oatmeal saliva.

“Eww,” Gabe chuckled at him, using a wipe to clean the older pup’s messy face. Sammy didn’t want his face cleaned though, he wanted to go for a walk. He was ready for a walk. “Come here you!”

As Gabe all but wrestled with Sammy to clean his face and apply the harness, Cas cleaned his hands and picked up the syringe his brother had prepared for him.

Dean whined when he saw him approaching, but Castiel just shushed him kindly. He placed the items on a shelf before unlatching the crate and guiding the pup out. Dean was shivering and was clearly scared.

Cas kept a hold of the pup’s collar, recognizing the look of fight or flight from Dean, as he reached up to the shelf and skilfully brought everything down. He used his teeth to pull off the syringe cap and spat it to the side.

“You okay there Cas?” Gabe called into the room, watching on, holding Sammy back now that he’d managed to get him all clipped up and ready to go.

“Fine,” Cas grumbled back, too busy focusing on his task. He cooed at the shaking form beside him and then gently pressed the needle into the skin of Dean’s thigh.

“There we go, sweet boy,” He hushed, letting go of the collar and smoothing the area of his thigh down. “We’re going to make you all better.”

Castiel smiled at Dean as the pup blinked up at him. He kept his small chant of promises, vowing that everything was going to be okay until the poor thing lost his battle with the sedative and slumped to the floor unconscious.

-X-

Everywhere hurt.

His head was pounding. There was a pulsing in his lower spine, a pressure in his throat and a heavy throb between his legs.

Jensen blinked and tried to make out where he was. Everything was clouded over, and it was so much effort to open his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep again and forget about the pain.

A form appeared and started to decent towards him. Every time Jensen opened his slowly-blinking eyes, the form got closer and closer. He had no idea who it was, and whined his discomfort.

“Good boy Dean.”

It was Cas. Jensen knew that voice, it was Cas!

A hand accompanied the words, stroking through his hair and being his ear. Knowing that Cas was there, Dean grumbled wanting his help. Castiel would help him.

“You’re such a good boy, Dean.”

The voice was confusing him. Dean? Jensen knew he was talking to him, but his name wasn’t Dean.

“Good boy. Good puppy.”

And he wasn’t a puppy. Was he?

“The surgeries are all done now, puppy. It’s all over. Just recovery time now, and you’ll be back on your feet before you know it.”

Surgeries? Jensen panicked. What had they done to him?

-X-

When Jensen woke again, he was more with it. He was on something cold in a dark, cold, dirty room. There was talk somewhere in the room, but Jensen struggled to locate it.

Jensen struggled up onto his hands and knees, recognising that he was on a large metal table. He bent his head downwards to take a few deep, shaky breaths but jumped back with a yelp.

He had paws! Actual paws with actual fur and actual claws. And between the paws, reflecting back at him through the metal of the table was a dog. A snout, two floppy ears and a black nose.

He tried to shout, but what left him was a bark. It was deep and loud and vibrated throughout him. It was the very definition of a dog’s bark. It also drew the attention of the people in the room.

The approached him, saying nothing. They wore surgeon masks and they had black googles covering their eyes. Jensen threw his head from side-to-side, desperately wanting to watch them both, but with one on either side of him he couldn’t watch them both at the same time.

One of the men wielded a scalpel in his gloved hand. The other reached out and in the blink of an eye, Jensen was strapped to the table, tummy up. Because his legs were now dog legs ( _literal dog legs_ ), they were upright, in the very way a dog may beg for a belly rub.

“Ah, you want your belly rubbed?” One of the masked men asked, patronizing. If Jensen wasn’t a dog (oh god, he was never going to get used to that!) he would be blushing right over. He snarled at him instead and barked.

The other man said nothing but slapped him hard across the snout. Jensen pined, gasping to get his breath back from the shock of how hard that blow was.

“Shut up,” Was grunted in his direction.

“Ready for the surgeries?” Another voice asked, over from the other side of the room.

Jensen recoiled. It was familiar. But instead of the warmth he had heard from it once upon a time, it was gone. Now it was cold and filled him with dread. It scared him so much that he swore he almost pissed himself. He raised his head and watched over his nose as the figure stepped out of the shadows.

It was the vet. Lucifer.

He didn’t look warm and kind, he looked vicious and mean. He smiled wide when he clapped eyes with Jensen, showing his teeth and making him look even scarier.

Jensen started shaking, unable to keep control anymore. He whined low in his throat and bared his neck in the most primal show of submission. He couldn’t help pleading, embarrassed with the whines that left him instead of words.

“Let’s see,” Lucifer mused, a hint of excitement as he picked up a clipboard and started shuffling through it. “With the amount of surgeries, I’ve got listed here there’s going to be nothing left of him when we’re finished.”

“Brilliant,” One of the masked men chuckled evilly. “I love these types of jobs.”

“Well then, we better get started.”

Jensen could do nothing but wriggle and try and beg. He tried pleading with the two masked men, trying to get them to see reason, but both of them just looked down at him with sadistic smiles. Jensen watched with wide panicked eyes as Lucifer grabbed a surgeon’s mask on his face.

He approached the table, and while Jensen could no longer see his cruel smirk, his eyes told how much he was going to enjoy this. He held his hand out expectedly, and one of the masked men placed the scalpel into it. Lucifer curled his fingers around the tool and raised it high.

“Wait,” The second masked man exclaimed, halting everything. Everyone turned their attention to him, Jensen choosing to struggle against the bonds while they were distracted. “Aren’t you going to use anaesthetic boss?”

“No,” Lucifer snapped, riled at being questioned like that. “It’s just a dumb animal. Plus, it’s more fun this way.”

Lucifer raised the scalpel again and Jensen screamed. The sound came out like a dogs cry, but he didn’t care. He just needed help! He tried to call again and again! Where was Cas? Gabe? He needed them!

The scalpel stung as it began to cut into his skin, and Jensen knew that this was how he was going to die. He scrunched his eyes closed.

The last thing he heard was Lucifer’s laughter.

-X-

The first thing he heard was laughter.

Jensen jolted from the dream, remembering the room, the table, the men, _Lucifer_. The sudden, harsh movement made him groan in pain and he curled in on himself, not caring that his discomfort was being voiced.

“Hey,” A voice shushed. It was unfamiliar, but kind. There were kind fingers in his hair too and it took Jensen a few minutes to blink them open carefully and a few more minutes still for his vision to clear properly.

He was nice and warm, if a little uncomfortable between the legs. The room he was in could only be described as a family room. It was large, colourful and cosy. There was a fire roaring and cracking, and Jensen realized that he was positioned almost directly in front of it, the warmth of the flames washing over him like a blanket. Jensen recognised that he was curled up on a large dog pillow, but it was so comfy that he didn’t even care.

He was still in pain, but it was dull now and something he could attempt to ignore. The throb in his crotch was the worst, but he couldn’t bring himself to even feel down there; scared to admit what had happened while he had been knocked out.

And, he realized, that had all been a dream, everything with the whole him turning into an _actual_ dog and Lucifer. He shuddered at the thought. The whole thing had just been a terrifying dream.

There was something around his head as well, Jensen was just realising. As he raised his head, and turned it to the left to try and see it, he realized that it was a cone. A dog cone. He burned in embarrassment. He had been put in the cone of shame!

He grumbled his displeasure at the plastic ring around his head, just inside his peripheral vision. The voice from before, the one he didn’t recognise shushed him softly.

Jensen snapped his attention to him. It was a boy, no older than 15. He was good looking, if a little dorky-looking. Jensen would bet that the kid was popular at school.

“Hiya Dean,” The boy spoke in but a whisper. Jensen tried to get up, but the boy was quick to stop him. “No boy. I know you just wanna get up and play, but you’ll pull your stiches.”

Jensen groaned and flopped back down, just the attempt to get up tiring him out.

“Cas!” The boy shouted loudly next, making Jensen flinch from the sudden change in the volume of the boy. He was quick to rectify it, shushing Jensen and apologising.

In the next second Cas almost flew through the doorway, having to skid to a halt. His whole face lit up when he realized the puppy was awake.

“Dean!” He beamed walking forwards and crouching down beside the other boy. “I’m so glad you’re awake pup,” He gushed hands running up and down Dean’s form as if checking him. Jensen let it happen, enjoying his warm touch.

“Samandriel,” Castiel then addressed the boy. Jensen watched between them both and suddenly, he was starting to see similarities in their features. “Can you go and let Gabe know he’s awake, please? And can you let mum know that I need some pain meds for him.”

Brothers! They were brothers! The boy was Cas’ kid brother.

“You got it,” The boy, Samandriel said, jumping up. “He’s real cute by the way Cas!”

Cas smiled wide at Jensen as his younger brother left.

“You really are,” Castiel agreed, speaking to Dean. He reached into the cone and scratched just behind his ear. “You’re such a good boy Dean. Don’t worry pup, Daddy promises things can only get better from here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that!!  
> So, as Cas promises Dean, I am going to promise you;  
> Things can only get better* from here!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> *hopefully


	6. Stitches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update lovelies!!!!  
> I hope you all had a brilliant festive period!!  
> Thank you so much for your continued support!!!!

** Chapter 6 **

The panic was starting to set in. He was becoming increasingly aware of the pain he was in with every passing second; the fact that he couldn’t properly voice his discomfort making the matter all the worse. He was barely conscious to the almost pitiful, desperate and pleading whines that were coming from him and instead chose to focus on the kind, gentle hands that smoothed over his clammy skin and the warm, soothing voice that washing over him promising that everything was going to be okay.

He couldn’t focus properly on his surroundings either, everything other than Cas’ face was a blue of colour and he felt as if the whole place was spinning. He was struggling to hold onto his line of thought and curled in on himself at the sharp pain between his legs.

“Mum! I need those pain meds, NOW!”

Cas’ hurried, harsh, worried shout was such a contrast to the soft, quiet voice he’d just been using that it made Jensen flinch away from him for just a second. Castiel caught onto the movement and hurried to plicate him again.

“Oh no, Dean,” He shushed, voice still rushed, but kinder now. “Daddy’s sorry, boy. He’s not upset with you. It’s Daddy’s fault for not giving you any medicine sooner. There’s a good boy. Good pup.”

Jensen was struggling to understand most of what he was saying. It was as if Jensen was trying to listen to his words from underwater, or with cotton wool in his ears. It was frustrating, and Jensen couldn’t help the short yowl as another cramping pain stabbed through him in his lower region. He wanted to beg for it to stop, to promise that he’d do anything; he couldn’t take any more! He threw his head back as best he could in the damned cone and squeezed his eyes shut. He pressed his hands (completely unaware of the new mittens enclosing them) to his abdomen in hopes that it might elevate some of the pain. The tears slipped from his closed eyes and he forced himself to remember to breathe through it all.

It was as if he was in hell.

Jensen was in so much pain that he almost didn’t feel the slight pinch of the needle in his bicep. He snapped his eyes open a second after he registered it and slapped eyes on Gabriel.

The older guy looked riddled with worry as he discarded the previously used syringe. Castiel was beside him, looking equally as concerned, nibbling on his fingernails with one hand and rubbing a tense hand over Jensen’s shoulder in what he guessed was supposed to be comforting.

When Gabriel noticed him looking at him, he managed a weak smile.

“Hiya Dean-o,” He muttered, in a failed attempt at an upbeat tone.

Jensen realised then that they were both generally worried about him. Why? They were the ones that had done this to him; the ones that sent him off to that awful vet and ordered to have his balls removed? For what gain? “To lower aggression levels and all that.”

Jensen was angry, but nowhere near as angry as he ought to be. He knew there was no biological way that his ‘aggression levels’ had been altered by his lack of balls already, so the lack of anger was a mystery to him. Instead, having Cas and Gabe close right now was actually calming and comforting. All he really need now was Sammy.

Jensen wanted to call for the other dog, but he was in too much pain and he wasn’t sure his own bark would be louder than a whisper right now. Instead, he opened teary filled eyes on his owners… no, not his owners… and hoped that they understood what he was asking for.

“Is it working?” Castiel uttered, his hands having not left Jensen’s skin for a moment. “Gabe, it doesn’t look like it’s working!”

“It is Cas,” Gabriel reassured his younger brother, hand on his shoulder. “He’s stopped crying so much already. Isn’t that right, sweet boy?”

Jensen blinked his eyes over to the shorter man, intrigued and invited in by his sweet, higher-pitched tone. Gabriel smiled again, this time the smile looking a little less forced.

“The medicine Papa gave the pup is working, isn’t it?”

Jensen blinked and then moaned, letting his eyes slip closed in exhaustion.

Gabriel was right, the pain had lessoned, considerably so and right now it was just a dull throb; still painful, but manageable. Now he just felt tired. He couldn’t have awake for more that 15 minutes and yet here he was feeling like he’d been awake for 72 hours straight. He wanted nothing more than to sleep.

“Oh, look at him,” Castiel’s voice shushed. “He’s shattered.”

For a moment, Gabriel didn’t reply, and Jensen wasn’t sure whether he was still there. He didn’t focus on it for now and instead let out a grumble as he forced himself onto his side again, which happened to be the most comfortable position while he was in this current condition. The movement caused a sharp pain to shoot through him, but the drug they’d injected into him made sure to dull it as quickly as it had come.

“He’ll be alright Cassie,” Gabe promised his brother. “He’s on the road to recovery now; give him a few weeks and he’ll be running circles around us once again.”

Jensen huffed, but didn’t open his eyes. He was more asleep than awake now and could feel himself quickly dropping. The doggy pillow he was led on was so darn comfortable and the fire still crackling behind him ensured that he was warmed to the bone.

-X-

Castiel was the first to wake the following day. The clock on the mantlepiece showed that it was barely four-thirty, and he wondered for a moment why he was awake at such a ghastly hour. But he quickly became aware of the sort whines coming from the doggy pillow and knew instantly what had woken him.

Castiel had decided that he would sleep on his parent’s couch, glad that his parents had always insisted on getting one that pulled out into a bed for when they had guests over. It made sleeping that much easier for him while still allowing him to be in the same room as Dean right now, without moving the pup. Until the puppy was allowed to move around a bit more, everyone had agreed it was a good idea for someone to sleep in the living room with him.

Castiel sat up slowly, yawning loudly to give the pup a warning that his master was awake. Dean’s whimpering stopped and Castiel smiled sadly over at the now tensed lump of blankets just in front of the unlit fireplace.

Castiel watched for a second, suddenly conscious of what Dean was doing under the blankets. At home the pup wouldn’t have been given a blanket as the house was kept at a regular, warm temperature for both him and Sammy; but here at the farm, it was colder overnight, and Dean was awarded a blanket to help keep the chill off while he was still recovering from his surgeries. (Castiel smiled to himself as he thought of Sammy curled up against Gabriel, underneath the covers to keep warm – it was a privilege the older pup was also only allowed when they stayed at the farm).

Castiel slipped out of the bed silently and padded over to the pup. He placed his hand on top of the blankets, unsurprised when Dean tensed back up again. Castiel moved the blanket back and sighed in disappointment at the sight. Dean was pressing his mittened paws between his legs, clearly trying to explore the now smooth, still bandaged area.

“Dean.” Castiel tutted, dropping the blanket onto the floor, ignoring the immediate shivers coming from the pup for a moment. He reached over and gently took hold of Dean’s paws and pulled them away from the still bandaged area. Dean whined low in his throat, tossing his head back before fixing Castiel with a death glare.

“You’ll pull your stitches if you’re not careful,” Castiel scolded, knowing that the area was still rather swollen and red. He had cleaned the area before bed last night. “Don’t touch pup; it could affect your healing.”

Dean’s breathing picked up, and the glare became more intense. He curled his lip up and all but snarled in Cas’ direction.

Now Castiel could put up with a lot of things; Dean could glare at him all he liked, he could whine and groan and grumble. But Castiel was not going to accept such a blatant threat (for lack of a better word – he knew Dean couldn’t cause him any harm like this, and it was something they were going to hopefully curb during this recovery period… Castiel didn’t want his puppy having to wear the muzzle the majority of the time).

Castiel landed a heavy swat on the pup’s bottom, not sorry in the slightest at the sharp yelp and intake of breath. The slap, whilst not as lethal as it could have been was plenty enough to deliver a message. The instinctual jerk that Dean gave at the hit cause him pain as he jolted his stitches, but Castiel was sure he was fine.

“Bad boy!” Castiel heavily scolded. “Do not snarl at me. Bad dog!”

Dean had the decency to look ashamed and curled his head further into his chest in submission, Castiel was pleased to note.

The pup was still shivering from the early morning cold and Castiel reached for the blanket again. Before he laid it back over the trembling puppy, he delivered one more promise.

“Any more snarling, any more touching Dean, and I will take your blanket away.”

Dean whined and looked at him with those large, wide, pleading eyes. Castiel decided to take this as the pup’s apology and gently laid the blanket back over the shivering boy. He smoothed down the edge and leant down to press a kiss to the pup’s shoulder.

“There now,” He murmured, letting his fingers trickle through Dean’s hair. “There’s Daddy’s good pup.”

-X-

Dean was a good boy after that, holding his hands away from his crotch and only whimpering and whining whenever he moved and caused discomfort or whenever Castiel left the room for the briefest of moments. Castiel kept praising him, giving him soft rubs and chin tickles whenever he passed.

Slowly, the house began to wake. First to come down the stairs was Joseph who wished his son good morning before grabbing a slice of toast on his way out the front door. Castiel knew he was off to milk the cows, just like every morning. Next to wake was Gabriel, who trundled down the stairs with an overexcited Sammy in his wake.

Castiel smirked over at his brother as he stopped in the doorway. Castiel had just finished folding the bed away back into the couch and he stood up, laughing when he noticed the leash attached to Sammy’s collar and then to his brother’s trouser loops.

Sammy was barking happily, pulling and trying to get closer into the room. Castiel knew that the older dog only wanted into the room to check on and be with Dean.

“Someone’s energetic this morning!” Castiel claimed.

“You don’t know the half of it! I had to almost barricade the door last night – little bugger kept trying to sneak down!” Gabriel scoffed, although his tone was light, and he rubbed Sammy’s long hair. “How’s Dean?”

“I woke up to find him trying to play with his stitches,” Castiel explained, glancing over his shoulder to see Dean had pushed himself up onto his elbows, clearly interested with what was happening just out of his line of sight. Neither Cas or Gabe tried to stop him, as some movement was good – as long as he didn’t attempt to get up onto his knees or pull himself about and out of the bed. “And he snarled at me when I told him off for it – but all sorted now. He’s been good as gold since.”

Gabriel nodded carefully, clearly deep in thought.

“Hey,” Gabe chuckled, pulling lightly at Sammy’s leash. “Settle down boy. We’re going to make breakfast in a second.”

“You couldn’t make up a bottle for Dean while you’re at it?”

“Got it!” Gabriel nodded as he spun in his heal and led Sammy away. The older dog looked almost heartbroken and tried his luck once or twice to get back to the living room – Gabe just rolled his eyes and kept walking, not even allowing Sammy the chance.

Castiel chuckled at the older dog’s stubbornness and turned around to start folding away his bedding. Dean was still on his elbows but was now looking at him with interest. Cas beamed over at him, heart melting at how cute and curious he looked.

Next to wake was Marie, who came downstairs with a huge smile on her face. She pecked Castiel on the cheek.

“Morning Mum,” Cas greeted, returning her hug.

“I just love having you boys at home,” Marie gushed, before checking in with how Castiel’s night had been.

Last to appear at the bottom of the stairs was the youngest Novak brother, Samandriel. He was in his school uniform, hair dishevelled and was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Morning,” Cas scoffed a laugh at how vulnerable and small his youngest brother looked. “Get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning or something?”

“Something like that,” Samandriel grumbled, blinking in Cas’ direction. “I was up half the night cramming for an exam.”

Gabriel eventually came back into the room with a bottle for Dean, laced with his pain meds and a relaxant to keep him calm during his recovery period – they didn’t want Dean trying anything and causing himself unnecessary, further injury.

Castiel muttered his thanks, whispering a quick hushed discussion about Sammy going out to help on the farm today before Gabe disappeared again and Cas went and made himself comfy next to the pup.

The poor thing was almost asleep again, only fluttering his eyes open when Cas shuffled around to get a better angle.

“Hey pup,” Cas shushed, running his hands over Dean’s exposed shoulder. “Papa made you some milk. Hmmm?”

Dean shook his head with a deep groan, raising his mittened hands. Castiel waited to see what would happen next, but Dean just let them flop back down, clearly too exhausted to do anything.

“Good boy,” Castiel praised. “There we go. Come here, boy.”

With a bit of manoeuvring, Castiel managed to help Dean into a better position for him to accept the bottle. Due to the disagreement the pup had just shown, Castiel was almost expecting a bit of a fight, if a feeble one, but as soon as the nib past his lips, Dean latched on and started to drink down the rich, thick milk almost greedily.

Castiel smiled and shushed him, uttering praised words while the pup drank. He was too close to sleep to really have made a conscious decision to accept the bottle, but Castiel was just pleased he’d avoided a typical battle.

“There we are,” Cas shushed as he took the empty bottle away. He chuckled quietly as the pup tried to chase the nib, more asleep now than he was awake. He brushed his hands over Dean’s head lightly. “You can sleep now, pup.”

For a few moments, Castiel shushed and cooed as Dean stirred and settle, snuffling about trying to get comfortable.

Jensen sighed as he let himself drift; the soft touch reminded him very much of his mother. Just the thought of her made Jensen feel at peace.

Castiel almost melted into a puddle when Dean pressed his face up against his thigh, gave a sigh in contentment and finally lost his battle with sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr!!](https://samsprincess69.tumblr.com/)  
>  If you liked my work and would like to buy me a [coffee](https://ko-fi.com/samsprincess), please do!! It would be ever so appriciated!! <3  
> Thank you for all your support!!  
> Much love to you all!  
> xxxx


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